What Happens Now?
by ShipperTrish
Summary: KakaSaku. Post whenever Kishimoto finally finishes the series. Sakura 22 years old, Kakashi 36 years old. With all the wars over and all conflicts resolved, Kakashi and Sakura are left with the question "So what happens now?"
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own "Naruto."

**Chapter 1**

"He's right in there."

"Thank you," Sakura said, grabbing the clipboard from the slot next to the door. She skimmed it quickly, then rolled her eyes before turning the knob and opening the door.

"Kaka-sensei!" she said, striding in without preamble. "My staff says you've been giving them a hard time."

"They tried (cough!) to take (cough!) my mask (cough!) off," Kakashi managed to say before going into a full on coughing fit.

"Only because they need to look down your throat to look at your tonsils and up your nose to look at your nasal passages," Sakura said unfazed. She had been around too many sick people in her career and was used to this sort of thing by now. "What is it with you and that mask anyway? I get that you don't want to be recognized in enemy bingo books. I get that you don't want to be mistaken for your father even if he has been gone for so long now that the likelihood of that even happening is slim to none. I get that you've just gotten used to wearing the thing and that you'd feel naked without it, but at the hospital where you yourself came in because you can't stand being sick anymore? C'mon, Kaka-sensei! Just take it off already! For all you know, it's the very thing that's incubating the germs around your face!"

"I'll have (cough!) you know (cough!) that I wear (cough!) a different one (cough!) every day (cough!) and (cough!) wash the (cough!) used ones (cough!) religiously (coughcoughcoughcoughcough!)"

"Really? You must have dozens of those masked shirts then!"

"Well (cough!) it's actually (cough!) more than (cough!) a dozen (coughcoughcough!)"

Sakura's eye's widened, then narrowed. "You know what? I don't even want to know. May you please just take off the mask you have on now?"

"Can't you (cough!) just heal me (cough!) with your (cough!) chakra? (coughcoughcough!)

"My chakra isn't going to kill a virus or a bacteria. It can only mend muscle and bone."

"You can (cough!) bring a (cough!) fish back (cough!) to life (coughcoughcough!)"

"Yes, I can bring a fish back from the dead, but it still doesn't mean I can cure the common cold! Now will you please just take off your mask so I can examine you better!"

"You know (cough!) I know (cough!) that you (cough!) Naruto (cough!) and Sasuke (cough!) have a (cough!) bet going (cough!) to see (cough!) who can (cough!) unmask (cough!) me first (coughcoughcough!)"

Sakura's face heated up in embarrassment and then just as quickly her temper flared up again. "It's not even about that!" (_Although it would be nice to be the one to finally win that bet_, thought Inner Sakura.) "YOU came HERE asking for help and now you won't even let us do what needs to be done to give you the help you need! I mean, just look at you!"

For a second, Kakashi's demeanor seemed to quaver and Inner Sakura was crouching down getting ready to jump up and pump her fists in victory, but alas…

"Sorry, Sakura," Kakashi said, shaking his head and coughing. "Nothing (cough!) personal (cough!) Do what (cough!) you need (cough!) but please (cough!) respect (cough!) my request (cough!) to keep (cough!) my mask (cough!) on (coughcoughcough!)"

Sakura deflated and said in a much calmer tone, "As you wish, Kaka-sensei. I see that the medics have already taken your weight, blood pressure, and used the ear thermometer to take your temperature, so will you at least allow me to check your tonsils by putting some pressure on the sides of your neck?"

Kakashi nodded, coughing.

"Thank you," Sakura said, moving closer to him and placing a hand on either side of his neck to check. She had the urge to just yank his mask down once and for all, but chose to stay professional instead.

"Well, your tonsils are definitely swollen and that cough sounds awful. May you take your flak jacket off so I can listen to your breathing better with my stethoscope?"

Kakashi willingly obliged, but Sakura had a difficult time just keeping the stethoscope on his chest and back, he was coughing so much.

"How did you even get this sick?" she asked, hanging the stethoscope back around her neck. "I thought that mask of yours is what's always kept you so healthy."

"I think (cough!) it's because (cough!) I've been (cough!) rubbing (cough!) my eye," Kakashi said weakly, his eyes watering with the effort.

"Is it bothering you?" Sakura asked, moving in again to take a closer look at his scarred left eye.

"No (cough!) not really (cough!) I just (cough!) sometimes (cough!) feel like (cough!) I still have (cough!) the Sharingan (coughcoughcough!)"

Sakura smiled sadly at him. "You mean like a phantom limb?"

Kakashi simply nodded his head and kept coughing. Sakura observed that although his mask was wet from all the coughing, at least it wasn't wet with blood, which was a good sign. It wasn't pneumonia, at least not yet.

"Okay, so here's what I'm going to do for you. I'm going to prescribe you with antibiotics, cough syrup, and an inhaler to help relieve that cough. I can't really do much about the phantom eye. If it hurts, take an aspirin, but don't over do it. If you feel the urge to rub at it, use a handkerchief or something else just so you're not touching it directly and risk infecting yourself again with whatever you have now."

"Thank you, Sakura," Kakashi said coughing, gratefully taking her signed prescription slip.

"You're welcome, Kaka-sensei. When you're done with the antibiotics, I want you to come back here again so I can make sure you're getting better, you hear me?"

Kakashi nodded, coughing at the same time.

Sakura smiled and waved goodbye to him before turning to the sink in the room and lavishing her hands and arms up to the elbows with soap and hot water. Sure he had a mask on, but considering how soaked it was with all that coughing, it was probably permeable at this point. All she knew was that if he wasn't any better by next week, she'd use the Strength of a Hundred Seal to strap him down to a bed herself and rip that irritating mask off!

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Light knocking on the door.

"Sakura, it's me. May I come in?"

"Oh, Kaka-sensei! Of course, take a seat!"

"No, it's okay. It looks like you're busy," he said, looking pointedly at the stacks of medical files on her desk that she was currently working on. "I just wanted to check in with you so that you can see that I'm doing much better now, and also to say 'Thank you'."

"Of course! You're welcome! I'm just glad that you can actually talk to me now without coughing every other word!"

"I'm so sorry about that."

"Don't be! I'm more upset that you didn't come to me sooner."

"I just thought it would go away on its own."

"Riiight, and the fear of being de-masked had absolutely nothing to do with it."

"Ahaha!" Kakashi laughed, nervously scratching the back of his neck. "Um…Well, anyway I was thinking that maybe I could take you out to lunch or something to pay you back."

"You really don't have to do that. I deal with that sort of thing every day."

"I know, but I literally felt like I was dying. All I could think of was of all the things that I had lived through, it was all going to end with me coughing myself to death."

Sakura laughed. "It was nothing, really, sensei. Don't worry about it!"

"I'd still really like to take you out. It looks like you could use the break anyway."

"I know, it's just that I have so much work to catch up on, and besides, I really don't feel like being stiffed the bill," she said raising an eyebrow up at him.

"Ahaha!" Kakashi laughed nervously again. "I don't think you have to worry about that anymore. Teuchi keeps a tab for me now."

"Really? When did that happen?"

"The last time I went out with Yamato, he got so angry at me for leaving him with the bill again that he made Teuchi promise to set up a tab for me."

"So now you stiff Teuchi instead."

"Well, he sort of got tired of that, too, and refused to give me anymore food until I paid up, so I made an arrangement with my bank to automatically pay him whenever my tab goes over a certain amount."

"Sounds perfect. Why'd you never do it that way before?"

"Because I always got someone else to pay the bill."

"Okay then. Why don't you just pay the bill in the first place? You get paid enough."

"The same reason that I'm always late…Because I can get away with it."

"Until you can't."

"It's amazing how much motivation a growling stomach can give you."

As if on cue, Sakura's own stomach made a grumbling noise.

"So what you're saying is that you can't stiff me the bill even if you wanted to?" Sakura asked, trying to make absolutely sure.

"Yes."

"Well, all right then! Let's go have lunch!"

* * *

><p>"Jeez, it's packed!" Sakura said, staring at the crowds of people huddled around the small ramen shop.<p>

"We have Naruto to thank for that. Ever since he became Hokage, everyone from Konaha to visitors from other villages want to eat at the Hokage's favorite ramen place."

"Why doesn't Teuchi just build a bigger place if he's doing so well?"

"We have Naruto to thank for that, too. I believe his exact words were 'I grew up eating ramen right here! Don't you dare change a thing, dattebayo!'"

Sakura did a face palm. "That idiot! So now no one can get a decent bowl of ramen without waiting in line for hours!"

"Not if you go to a different village. Teuchi has a chain of ramen shops now. The only reason it's so crowded here is because everyone wants to go to the original shop and maybe get a glimpse of the Hokage himself."

"Ugh! Well, thanks for offering to buy me lunch, Kaka-sensei, but I think I'd rather just go back to the hospital and eat at my desk like I usually do anyway."

"Sakura, it's really not a problem. Trust me, you'll see."

Sakura gave him a skeptical look, but Kakashi smiled at her again. "Trust me," he repeated.

Without saying a word, Sakura simply followed reluctantly behind him towards the crowd of people.

"Excuse me," Kakashi said, gently tapping the shoulder of a person in front of him.

"Hey, buddy, why don't you wait your own t…" the impatient man, who had probably been waiting a long time already, was about to say, but he took one look at Kakashi and immediately backed down, stepping aside for him instead.

"Thank you," Kakashi said, smiling at the man and continuing to make his way through the crowd.

Sakura followed hesitantly behind him, all the while hearing murmurs of "It's Hatake Kakashi!" and "Who's that with him?" "Don't you see the Strength of a Hundred Seal on her forehead? It's the Fifth's apprentice!"

One by one the crowd parted, letting them through. Some people even said reverent "Thank yous" and "It's an honor to meet you!" Some people patted them on the back and the majority of those same people said excitedly, "I can't believe I just touched Hatake Kakashi!" or "I can't believe I just touched the Fifth's apprentice!"

Kakashi smiled politely at all of them and Sakura, still amazed by the whole scene, warily smiled back at everyone also.

When they finally got to the bar, all the stools were already taken, but two patrons immediately jumped off their seats and offered them to them.

Sakura started to shake her head "No," too embarrassed to take someone else's seat on top of everything else, but Teuchi himself was already saying "Go ahead! Please, Sakura-sama! It's the least we can do! Besides," Teuchi said still smiling amicably, "Anyone who doesn't give up his seat for the original Team 7 is automatically denied service. Company policy."

There was general agreement amongst the crowd. They were too in awe of not one, but two of the original Team 7 to disagree.

"Okay. If you say so," Sakura said, still feeling uncomfortable about the whole thing.

Meanwhile, Teuchi went back to the kitchen to prepare two bowls of ramen for them.

"I don't know if I like this," Sakura said, hunching towards Kakashi so that mostly only he could hear her. "I feel bad for cutting in line like that, and it feels weird having everyone stare at us like this."

"You can't beat Ichiraku Ramen, Sakura. Besides, we're here already. Might as well see it through."

"Okay…" Sakura said, leaning her body towards Kakashi in an attempt to keep some sort of distance from the ogling crowd.

"Sakura, you've survived more than this. Don't let a crowd of fans get to you. If anything, they're probably more afraid of you than them."

"I've been told the same thing about insects, sensei. That doesn't make me feel any less freaked out by them."

Kakashi smiled at that, then smiled up at Teuchi who had just brought them their bowls of ramen.

"Thank you," Kakashi and Sakura said together.

"My pleasure," Teuchi smiled at them both before returning to the kitchen once more.

Kakashi was just about to dig into his food when he caught Sakura still staring at him.

"What?" he asked wide eyed.

"I just want to see how you're going to eat your ramen in front of this entire crowd. You have to take your mask off, after all."

"But I just finished."

"Whaaaat?!" Sakura and everyone else around them said in unison, and sure enough, Kakashi's bowl, which had been full to brimming before, was almost completely empty now except for a few dregs of spices sitting at the bottom.

"B-b-but you were just about to…How did you…" Sakura stammered.

"I'm the Yellow Flash's student, Sakura. You seem to forget," he said winking at her.

Sakura couldn't get over the fact that she could actually tell now when he was winking at her or anybody, really. Now that he had both normal eyes back, there was no need for him to cover the left one.

"But still! Did you just use some weird genjutsu just so that we wouldn't see you take your mask off?"

"You should really focus on eating your own ramen, Sakura. It's going to get cold. Besides, the sooner you finish, the sooner those kind gentlemen who gave up their seats for us can get them back."

Sakura gritted her teeth. She'd get to the bottom of this mask business someday, but right now her conscience wanted her to do exactly what Kakashi had suggested. As it was, those same two gentlemen were watching them intently, not unkindly, just curiously.

Sensing her discomfort, Kakashi tried to change the subject. "Did you know that Teuchi is so well off now that he doesn't even need to work anymore?"

"Really?" Sakura asked around a mouthful of noodles. She was trying to down it as quickly as possible, albeit not as quickly as Kakashi had.

"Yeah, he told me once that the only reason he keeps cooking here is so that whenever Naruto walks in through those banners, he sees a familiar face and not some random cook."

"That's really sweet!" Sakura said, her mouth still full.

"It's funny because as often as I come here, I still seem to keep missing Naruto. Have you seen him lately?"

Sakura nodded, taking a big gulp of just chewed noodles and wiping her mouth with a napkin. "I just saw little Minato. I know he's just a few weeks old, but it really is amazing how big of a difference a few weeks can make. I swear, even though I work at a hospital I still can't get over how fast babies grow! When I first saw him he was this big," Sakura said, holding her hands apart a certain distance. "And now he's this big!" she gushed, hold her hands just a little bit further apart.

Kakashi smiled at her. "Naruto and Hinata are very lucky."

"Yes, they are," Sakura smiled, but for a fleeting moment a bit of sadness passed over her face, which Kakashi noticed.

"I'm sorry, Sakura. I didn't mean to…I mean, I know that you…"

"I'm happy for them, really."

Kakashi gave her a look.

"Really, sensei, I am. I was always chasing after Sasuke, and it was Hinata who was always chasing after Naruto. I could never get Sasuke to chase after me in return, but Hinata managed to get Naruto to chase after her, and let's face it, it wasn't much of a chase. All she really had to do was stand there and let him glomp her, and they just fused together like they were always meant to be together. I'm happy for them, really," she repeated.

Kakashi could see that she meant it, but he could also see that she couldn't help but feel a little sad about it.

"You'll meet someone," he told her reassuringly. "You're beautiful and smart and strong, and I just know that someone out there will see what I see and make you his wife before you know it."

"Thanks, sensei, but I've grown up enough to know not to base my happiness on some guy. I've learned to count my blessings every day, and I have a lot of blessings. I have a good life and I'm relatively happy. If I meet someone, great! If I don't meet anyone, then I guess it just isn't meant to be, but I'm not going to sit at home and mope about it!"

Kakashi smiled at her and to Sakura's surprise, gently squeezed her hand in a sign of approval before just as quickly letting her hand go.

Sakura smiled back at him. "Thank you for lunch, sensei."

"Anytime, Sakura. You did save me from dying, after all."

* * *

><p>The next day…<p>

Light knocking on the door.

"Hi, Sakura."

"Kaka-sensei, what are you doing here?"

"I was just headed out to get some lunch and thought you might want to join me."

"Thanks, but I really shouldn't. I have so much work to catch up on."

"No worries. Just thought I'd ask," Kakashi smiled at her, then started to turn away to leave.

"Kaka-sensei! Wait!"

"…"

"I actually am kind of hungry, and I deserve a break. If I don't eat and get some rest, I'll probably do more harm than good anyway."

Kakashi smiled at her again and waited for her to close things up before gesturing for her to walk in front of him.

"So, are you treating again?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi stopped mid-stride, his eyes wide.

"You know," Sakura continued happily on, "I think I'm actually hungrier than I thought. In fact, I could probably eat as many bowls of ramen as Naruto!"

Kakashi's head slunk down to his chest and he sluggishly walked behind Sakura who was all but skipping all the way to Ichiraku's.

To be continued…


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Good morning. I'm here to see…"

"Sakura-sama? Go right on through," said the woman at the receptionist's desk.

"Uh, thank you," Kakashi said a bit surprised, but he smiled at the woman and made his way to the back offices, making a beeline for Sakura's. Then, he knocked lightly on her door. "Sakura, it's…"

"C'mon in, Kaka-sensei!"

Kakashi's eyes widened in surprise again. He turned the knob and swung the door open. "How did you…"

But to his further surprise, he saw that Sakura was already hanging up her lab coat and preparing to leave.

"How did I know that it was you?" Sakura asked. "Because you've been stopping by to pick me up for lunch every day all week. I think it would be more of a surprise if you stopped coming by at this point. Aren't you sick of paying for my lunch by now?"

"I told you, you saved my life. Buying you lunch is the least that I can do," Kakashi smiled at her.

"I gave you antibiotics and cough syrup. I do the same for two year olds to ninety-two year olds, but you don't see them buying me lunch every day."

Kakashi laughed and scratched the back of his neck nervously. "If you don't want me to take you out to lunch anymore, I can stop."

"Well I don't want us to stop having lunch together. I like having lunch with you. It definitely beats eating lunch alone at my desk."

"Couldn't you eat lunch with everybody else here?"

"I could, but it gets kind of weird since I'm the boss. We're friendly enough, but I can just sense how everyone gets uptight whenever I'm around and how they try not to say stuff around me, so I'd rather just eat by myself."

"I see. If you prefer eating by yourself, you don't have to feel obligated to have lunch with me. I just thought…"

"Kaka-sensei, I already told you, I like having lunch with you. I just meant that it's awkward eating lunch with my staff, which is why I'd rather eat alone than with them, but with you, it's different. I like talking to you and hanging out with you again. I'm actually really glad that we've started doing this."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. It gets lonely sometimes, and besides, when I eat lunch at my desk, I don't feel like I've taken a break, but now that you've started picking me up for lunch, and we go out, and we talk, I actually do feel refreshed when I come back. So yeah, I'm glad we've started doing this."

"So am I." Kakashi smiled at her. "So you DO want me to buy you lunch?"

"I'm a medic, sensei. I can afford to buy my own lunch."

"So you DON'T want me to buy you lunch?"

"Right, but I don't want us to stop having lunch together either. Now that Sasuke is gone and Naruto is Hokage and a dad on top of that, you're all that I have left of Team 7."

Kakashi's face softened. "You'll always have me, Sakura."

"I know," she said. "Thank you."

"And you're all that I have left of Team 7 also, so thank you, too."

"So then we both agree that us having lunch together is a good idea?"

"Yes, agreed." Kakashi laughed.

"Good," Sakura said. "Because I'm starving!"

* * *

><p>A few days later…<p>

"And make sure to schedule her for a follow up two weeks from now," Sakura said, handing a file to one of the nurses.

"Yes, Sakura-sama."

Sakura smiled at the nurse and then proceeded to make her way to her office. Like usual, Kakashi was already waiting there, leaning against her doorway, reading a worse for wear copy of _Icha, Icha_.

"Hi, Kaka-sensei. Just give me a minute and we can go."

"Of course," he said smiling at her, then continued to read as Sakura went about adjusting paperwork on her desk so that she could easily deal with them later when they came back.

"Okay, I'm ready," she said as she took off her lab coat and hung it up on the hook behind her door.

"After you," Kakashi said, smiling at her and waving for her to go before him, then he tucked his book away in a back pouch, shoved both hands in his pockets, and followed after Sakura in a leisurely pace.

"We'll be back in an hour," Sakura told the nurses sitting at the nurses' station.

"Have a good lunch, Sakura-sama and Kakashi-sama!" they said in unison.

"Thank you!" Sakura and Kakashi said together.

Once they were a fair distance from the hospital, Sakura suddenly laughed and shook her head.

"What?" Kakashi asked confused.

"Didn't you see that?"

"See what?"

"How they look at you!"

"No, why? How do they look at me?"

"How can you be ex-ANBU and not notice how my staff looks at you?" Sakura said rolling her eyes at him.

"I'm sorry. I guess I just wasn't paying attention. How were they looking at me?

"Like they all want you to father their children!"

"Really? But some of them are male."

"Okay…Some of them want you to father their children and some of them want you to adopt children together, so that you can father those children. You seriously didn't see that?!"

"I think you're reading too much into things, Sakura. They were just being friendly."

"Friendly in hopes that they can get to know you better, in hopes that they can date you later, in hopes that you'll fall hopelessly in love with them and father their children later!"

"Sakura, I am not fathering any of those people's children. Besides, even if they were looking at me that way, why are you so worked up about it?"

"I'm not! I'm just saying, you could have your pick of anybody, absolutely anybody, and yet you're not with anybody! Why is that?"

"What are you talking about? I'm with you right now."

"You know what I mean! I mean, look at you! How is it humanly possible that you're still single!"

"Sakura, the same could be said about you."

Sakura felt her face heat up in embarrassment. "That's not the point. I'm single because I choose to be, or more accurately, because the person I actually wanted to be with is off somewhere doing evil things, so I shouldn't even still be pining for him in the first place!"

"Well, more or less that's my reason too…Except for the pining after an evil rogue ninja part."

"So what you're saying is that you choose to be single."

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because."

"Because in not an answer."

"Sakura, may we not have this conversation?"

"Why not?"

"Because it's making me uncomfortable."

"Fine. What do you want to talk about instead?"

"Anything but my love life or lack thereof, okay?"

"Okay," Sakura said. She was just about to find something else to argue about with him when her eyes widened as they approached Ichiraku Ramen. "Is it just me or does it seem even busier than it already was before?"

"No, it's definitely busier than it was before," Kakashi said, his eyes just as wide as hers. "You want to go somewhere else?"

"I would say yes, but we're already here and I know we don't have to wait in that line anyway. Like you said before, they're more afraid of us than we are of them, right?"

"Right. You ready?"

"No, but let's go anyway. You first." Sakura said, ducking behind Kakashi as they made their way towards the crowd.

"Excuse me," Kakashi said, tapping on the shoulder of a person in front of him. It was a woman, and the moment she saw Kakashi, her eyes widened in both surprise and awe and she wordlessly let him through with Sakura following closely behind him.

Again, Kakashi and Sakura heard the now familiar murmurings of "It's them! The original Team 7! It's Hatake Kakashi and Haruno Sakura!" and as always, whoever was already sitting at the bar was more than happy to give up their seats for them. It still made Sakura feel a little uncomfortable, but Kakashi was right…A growling stomach could make you do things you wouldn't normally do otherwise.

"Kakashi-sama and Sakura-sama! It's so good to see again!" Teuchi said warmly.

"Good to see you, too!" Kakashi and Sakura said in return as Teuchi immediately put two steaming bowls of ramen in front of them.

"That was fast!" Sakura said surprised.

"I was expecting you. You always come around this time, so I just always have two bowls waiting for you now." Teuchi shrugged.

"Well, thank you! We really appreciate it!" Sakura said, immediately digging into her food. "Why does it seem even busier than before?" she asked after she had eaten just enough noodles to sate some of her hunger.

"Why because of you two, of course. Word has spread that you come here every day for lunch and now everybody wants to come here just so that they can see you."

Sakura and Kakashi looked around them and sure enough, everyone was looking keenly back at both them.

"Maybe we should start eating somewhere else," Sakura said softly to Kakashi, but Teuchi heard her nonetheless.

"Oh please don't do that!" he begged. "I don't know if you've noticed, but everyone is keeping a decent distance from you and leaving you alone so that you can eat in peace. I made that another company policy. If they want to see you, they can see you, but no hounding for autographs and no bothering you while you eat. If they disobey the rules, they don't get served and get kicked out. Please don't stop coming here. I know it's selfish to ask, but you're good for business. Naruto used to bring the customers in, but he doesn't even come here that often anymore. I know he's busy, but still. Please don't stop coming here. Please?"

Kakashi and Sakura exchanged looks.

"Of course, Teuchi," Sakura smiled at him. "We couldn't think of a better place to bring our business to."

* * *

><p>Some days later…<p>

"So, what do you think about this dress?"

"It's too red."

"What's wrong with red?"

"All you wear is red!"

"Hello? Pink hair? Not a lot of colors go well with pink, if you haven't noticed."

"Not true. White, black, grey…Any neutral color would go with pink."

"Well I happen to like this dress, so I'm getting it regardless of what you think."

"Then why bother asking me for my opinion anyway?" Ino asked exasperated.

"Because I value my best friend's opinion," Sakura smiled at her.

"Aww…" Ino began.

"So that I can do the complete opposite of what you say," Sakura finished.

"Why you little…"

"Uh-uh-uh! Temper, temper!" Sakura chided. "I thought it was your resolution to work on that temper of yours before you officially got married."

"That should be YOUR resolution, not mine. Your temper is worse than mine, after all."

"Maybe, but I'm not the one getting married."

"Details. Besides, from the sound of it you're not that far off from walking down the aisle yourself," Ino said, raising an eyebrow up at Sakura.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't be coy. To think, after all these years that I've know you, it didn't occur to me that you might be into older men."

"Older men?"

"Don't play dumb! Rumor has it that you and Kaka-sensei have been spending a lot of time together."

"What? That! Oh c'mon, Ino! We've just been having lunch together, as friends. I've had lunch with you before and nobody thinks anything of it!"

"That's because everybody knows that we both don't swing that way, and besides, we haven't been having lunch together every day for the past few weeks in front of crowds of people the way you and Kaka-sensei have been!"

"We're just friends, Ino! That's it! We've been catching up together. That's all!"

"Well, Teuchi confirmed that he caught you guys holding hands one time."

"What are you…" Sakura began, but then it dawned on her what Ino was referring to. "Are you kidding me? I was talking to Kaka-sensei about something one day and he was just trying to comfort me. Don't read more into it than you should!"

"Shouldn't I?"

"No, you shouldn't!"

"I don't know, Sakura. Kaka-sensei is the world's most eligible bachelor and you're the most eligible bachelorette. You can't blame everyone for thinking that there's more going on between you two than two old friends going out together for lunch EVERY DAY FOR THE PAST FEW WEEKS!"

"Well that's all it is, okay? Besides, he's way too old for me! He used to be my teacher for crying out loud!"

"You're in your twenties, he's in his thirties. It's not that big of an age difference. It's not like he's in his eighties or something, and he USED to be your teacher, for like one year a decade ago."

"I still call him Kaka-sensei and so do you!"

"Out of habit. Out of respect, but if you personally want to keep calling him that for some kinky kind of foreplay-"

"INO! We are so NOT having this conversation!"

"You gotta admit, he's pretty damn hot, of what we've seen of him anyway. Those arms and legs and chest…" Ino faked fainting.

"Ino, what part of 'We are NOT having this conversation!' did you not understand?"

"All I'm saying is that you could do worse, like chase after some dark haired guy who's tried to kill you more than once."

"That really hurts, Ino. Besides, you used to chase after Sasuke, too."

"Not after I realized what a psychopath he is! If you haven't noticed, he's not the one I'm engaged to."

"Well, good for you. Besides, I've since stopped chasing after Sasuke."

"But you still have feelings for him."

"Please leave me alone, Ino."

"Only if you come to grips and realize that you could do much, much better."

"So you're going to throw me together with my ex-teacher instead?"

"At least he tries to protect you, not murder you!"

"A lot of people try to protect me, like Naruto."

"Naruto is married to Hinata now."

"Ino, are you purposely trying to twist the kunai that's already stabbed in my heart?"

"All I'm saying is that if you've got something going on with Mister I'm So Sexy I Have To Wear A Mask All The Time To Keep The General Female Population From Falling Head Over Heels In Love With Me, then you have my blessing."

"For the last time, Ino, we're JUST FRIENDS! GOD!"

To be continued…


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_The trouble with stealthy ninjas,_ Sakura decided, _is that they're so difficult to find._

"Where are you?" Sakura mumbled to herself. How could she see him every day at lunch for more times than she could remember at this point and have this much trouble finding him on a weekend, the only times when they didn't see each other?

"Have you seen, Kaka-sensei?" Sakura asked for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"Sorry, no." Tenten said, shaking her head apologetically.

"You know, for someone who's trying her best to not seem interested in Kaka-sensei, asking about him all around the village isn't helping your case."

Sakura's eyes widened and when she turned around, she saw, to her dread, Ino leaning against a building, her arms crossed in front of her chest, an eyebrow raised up at Sakura.

"I heard something about that!" Tenten said. "Is that what this is all about?" she asked way too eagerly for Sakura's liking.

"I am NOT interested in Kaka-sensei!" Sakura said vehemently, her fists clenched at her sides, her face turning red. "I just need to talk to him about something."

"About how you think he's super hot and how you would love to have equally super hot babies with him?" Ino teased.

Tenten giggled at that.

Sakura could feel herself on the brink of strangling her so-call best friend. "I am NOT interested in Kaka-sensei! What is wrong with you people?!"

"You have been spending an awfully lot of time with him," Tenten admitted.

"Thank you!" Ino exclaimed. "See, I'm not the only one who thinks so!" she said to Sakura.

"You know what? Never mind. I'll find him myself!" Sakura said, turning away from them and stomping off.

"Try not to get pregnant when you find him!" Ino yelled at her loud enough for everyone else on the busy street that they were on to turn around and look at them.

Sakura clenched her fists tighter and stormed off even faster. If she didn't, she was positive that Ino would be dead in two seconds flat and there were far too many witnesses.

* * *

><p><em>Third times the charm<em>, Sakura thought when she finally found Kakashi stooped over a grave at the Konoha cemetery. The cemetery had been one of the first places she had looked for him, but the first two times she had been there earlier that day, he was nowhere to be found. So, third times the charm.

Sakura walked down a row of graves, then quietly up behind Kakashi before stopping right next to him. He never even raised his head, he just kept staring at the gravestone in front of him, his hands shoved in his pockets.

"Nohara Rin," Sakura read the name carved into the stone out loud. "Who was she, Kaka-sensei?"

"She was my teammate a very long time ago."

"You must have cared for her very deeply."

"Yes." Kakashi said so softly that Sakura barely heard him.

"And you visit her every day, don't you?"

"Yes."

"Was it…was it because she was something more?"

"She was a friend."

"I mean…more than that. Were you in love with her? Is that why you constantly visit her?"

"No, my other teammate, Obito, was the one in love with her. It wasn't until she was gone that I realized that I loved her, too."

"Oh, Kaka-sensei. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. She died a hero."

"How so?"

"She chose to kill herself rather than let an enemy village use her as a weapon against our own."

"Wait a minute…Nohara Rin. I have heard that name before, in school. Wasn't the Three Tails sealed inside of her, and when she died, so did the Three Tails? It's the only tailed beast in history known to have died."

"Yes, that's her."

"Wow…" Sakura said in reverence. "I remember asking myself when I first heard about her if I could ever do what she did: Take my own life for the sake of our village."

"Only she didn't kill herself, I did."

Sakura's eyes widened. "_You_ killed her? But how?"

"With my Chidori, right through her chest."

Sakura felt like she was going to be sick. "I don't understand. All the stories I've heard say that she killed herself, that it was her self sacrifice that made her a martyr, so how could you have killed her?"

"I was aiming for someone else with my Chidori and she got in the way on purpose so that I would hit her instead."

"Is that why you keep coming here? Guilt? Because if it is, you're torturing yourself for no reason. She chose to die for our village. It's what any good ninja would do."

"I know, but I promised to protect her, but instead, she died by my hand."

"Kaka-sensei, I know you. If there's any way you could have protected her, you would have, but from the sound of it, there was only so much you could do, and she had to do what she had to do. There's no blame to be had."

"You should've seen the look on her face, and her last words were my name."

Kakashi, who had been as still as the stone monuments around them, finally moved, lifting his hands up to cover his face, and his body, which had already been stooped, fell forward even more.

In spite of the risk of being seen, Sakura did what she knew was the right thing to do at that moment: She wrapped her arms around his hunched form and hugged him, resting her cheek against his arched back.

"You really shouldn't come here anymore if it only brings you this much pain."

"It's not always like this. Most days it's fine. I think it's only like this now because I've never told anyone all this before."

"You haven't? Well you should have. If you had, maybe you wouldn't be carrying so much unnecessary guilt on your shoulders."

"It's not exactly something I'm proud of, and it's not exactly something I want to share with just anybody."

Sakura felt the weight of his words. If they hadn't become so close these past few weeks, would he have bothered telling even her?

"Well, I'm glad that you told me at least, and I still think you should stop coming here, at least for a little while. It can't be good for you to keep torturing yourself like this. How can your wounds heal if you keep picking at them? And I should know, I'm a medic."

Kakashi laughed slightly at this, but it was enough to let Sakura know that he was okay now, so she released her arms around him and let him go.

"It's not so much that I'm picking at old wounds," Kakashi explained. "It's because I like coming here."

"To a cemetery?" Sakura asked skeptically.

"I know it sounds strange, but whenever I come here, I feel like I'm coming home. Rin, Obito, Yondaime, they were like my family, and when I come here, it's like I'm visiting my family. I'm reuniting with them, and in some strange way, that keeps me sane, you know?"

"Yes, that makes sense. I just wish it didn't mean you'd have to feel guilty every time you did it."

"The guilt keeps me humble. It keeps me from getting too cocky the way I used to be when I was younger."

"You? Cocky? Really?" Sakura asked, genuinely shocked. For as long as she had known Kakashi and despite all his accomplishments, she had never heard him once brag or flaunt his abilities. Like his Sharingan, before he had lost it, he had kept his strengths hidden, revealing them only when absolutely necessary.

"The point is, I can't stop coming here, Sakura. I won't. It's too important to me."

"I see. Well, I can't stop you, but please, stop being so hard on yourself, okay?"

"Okay."

Sakura gave his upper arm one last squeeze before starting to turn away to leave.

"Wait, Sakura, why are you here? Were you looking for me?"

Sakura turned around to face him again. "Yes, I was, but it can wait."

"Are you sure? Because if you want to talk, we can."

"No, it's okay. It can wait. I'll see you at lunch tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, and Sakura?"

"Yes, Kaka-sensei?"

"Thank you."

"Anytime," she smiled at him and then turned back around and slowly walked away from him.

Back at the village, Sakura wove her way through the busy streets in auto mode, her mind completely elsewhere.

How could she ever tell Kakashi that the reason she was looking for him was to tell him that maybe they should stop seeing each other for a while? That the village was gossiping about them and misconstruing their friendship for something more? How could she be so heartless to tell him all this in the middle of a cemetery with him mourning for the only family he had left…his teammates. If she left him now, she would be just one more teammate abandoning him, but who knows? Maybe he'd get over it. Time heals all pain, after all, but the fact that Kakashi kept visiting the gravesite of a girl he didn't even know he loved until she was gone, Sakura wasn't so sure.

To be continued…


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Good morning. I'm here to see-"

"Sakura-sama? Go right on through."

"Thank you," Kakashi smiled at the receptionist.

"You know," the receptionist began, stopping Kakashi in his tracks. "You should buy her flowers some time. Girls love flowers," the receptionist smiled knowingly at him.

"Uh, okay." Kakashi said confused. "Thank you," he said again, giving a friendly smile to the woman all the same, then continued on to Sakura's office.

Light knocking on the door.

"Sakura, it's-"

"C'mon in, Kaka-sensei! Hey."

"Yo."

"Just give me a minute and we can go."

"No problem. You know, your receptionist just said the strangest thing to me."

"She did? What did she say?"

"She said that I should buy you flowers because girls like flowers."

"She did? That's weird. Why would she say something like that?"

"I don't know. I thought you might know. I thought maybe I missed your birthday or something and she was trying to help me."

"No, it's not my birthday, not for a while anyway."

"That is strange then."

"Yeah, it is. I can ask her about it."

"No, don't do that. It might just make things weirder."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it. Are you ready?"

"Yup, let's go."

* * *

><p>"Is it just me, or does it seem like everyone is looking at us?" Sakura asked as they walked along the busy streets on their way to Ichiraku's.<p>

"No, they're definitely looking at us," Kakashi confirmed.

Even as they spoke, Kakashi and Sakura noticed people watching them and then turning around to murmur to each other. Some of them smiled kindly at them. Some of them shook their heads in disapproval. Some simply stared blankly at them. Some glanced at them quickly and then just as quickly turned away.

"Something's up." Kakashi said. "I don't know what, but there's definitely something going on."

When they made it to the now expected crowd at Ichiraku's, Kakashi and Sakura were surprised to see that it seemed to have grown yet even bigger than last time.

"What is going on?" Sakura asked in disbelief.

"I don't know, but I have a strange feeling about this."

"Should we just forget about it and go somewhere else?" Sakura asked.

"It's up to you. We've faced far worse things than a hungry lunch crowd, but I wouldn't hold it against you if you want to go somewhere else." Kakashi said.

Sakura thought about it for a minute. On the one hand, something was definitely up and she didn't like the feel of it. On the other hand, she had fought off more enemy ninjas than she could count and some scary ass monsters, too, and still came out alive. How much harm could a crowd of mostly civilians do? She was a top ninja for crying out loud! The Fifth's very own apprentice! If things ever got really bad, she could always tap into her Strength of a Hundred Seal and go all Shannaro on their asses!

"I am not going to let anyone come between me and my ramen. Let's go." Sakura said.

"You sound like Naruto." Kakashi laughed, scratching the back of his neck.

"When you hang around someone long enough, you tend to sound like them," Sakura shrugged, then lead the way into the crowd.

"Excuse me," she said, tapping on someone's shoulder.

A man turned around and a shocked expression crossed his face once he recognized that it was her. As everyone also began to realize that Sakura and Kakashi were amongst them, the shock and awe and murmurs predictably started to roll through the crowd. Sakura and Kakashi were all too used to this by now. They politely smiled at everyone and gently pushed their way through the crowd until they made it to the lunch counter, where several patrons immediately gave up their seats for them.

"No, it's okay! We only need two seats!" Sakura said. "Please!" she said, relinquishing the other seats back to their original owners.

The patrons who got their seats back seemed pleased to now be sitting next to two celebrities. The patrons who lost their seats were actually bragging that two celebrities were now sitting where they themselves used to be sitting. It would always be far too strange for Kakashi and Sakura, but they learned to just accept such nonsense and simply enjoy their good fortune.

"Good morning, Teuchi!" Sakura and Kakashi greeted the cook.

"Good morning, Kakashi-sama and Sakura-sama! Glad to see you again!" Teuchi said, immediately placing two steaming bowls of ramen in front of them. "Enjoy!"

"Thank you!" they said gratefully and dug in.

Thank goodness for Teuchi and his efficiency and his company policies, and thank goodness for fans too eager to please. If not, Kakashi and Sakura would have had to wait to be served. Even worse, the massive crowd could have trampled them, but tack on Teuchi's strict rules and fans who knew better than to break those rules if they ever wanted to catch a glimpse of their idols, and it all surprisingly worked out. It couldn't hurt either that the crowd was far too aware of the fact that their idols could just as easily run them down with a Chidori and a Strength of a Hundred Seal if it came to that.

Downing her meal almost as quickly as Kakashi (A quirk that had rubbed off on Sakura after hanging out with him for far too long) she wiped her mouth with a napkin and asked, "Hey, Teuchi, do you know what's going on? It seems like today's crowd is even bigger than before."

"Oh, didn't you see today's _Konoha Enquirer_?" Teuchi asked, surprised.

Both Kakashi and Sakura shook their heads no.

"Here, I'll get a copy for you," Teuchi said, leaving to go to the back room before immediately coming back with the infamous tabloid paper. Then, he placed it on the counter right in front of Kakashi and Sakura.

Kakashi and Sakura bowed their heads close together to look down at it. Emblazoned on the front cover in bold, all caps letters was the headline "IS ROMANCE BREWING BETWEEN TWO MEMBERS OF THE ORIGINAL TEAM 7? YOU DECIDE!" and below it was a photograph of Sakura looking knowingly at Kakashi as she reached out a hand to touch his arm while Kakashi smiled warmly at her. The image was so large, that it took up the entire front page. On the bottom right hand corner, again in bold, all caps letters was the sub-heading "MORE PHOTOS STARTING ON PAGE 4!"

"What the-" Sakura began as she flipped straight to page 4.

As promised, there were at least a dozen or so more photos of Kakashi and Sakura together in various scenes. There was a photo of them walking down a street, deep in conversation. There were quite a few photos of them having lunch together at Ichiraku's, and most recently of all, there was a photo of Sakura hugging Kakashi as he stood bent over a gravestone, his hands covering his face in grief.

"Oh my god! This one was taken just yesterday!" Sakura said in disbelief.

Kakashi said nothing, completely bewildered himself.

Both shocked and infuriated, Sakura went on to read the included article:

_Hatake Kakashi and Haruno Sakura are most well known as two members of what is now being called "The Original Team 7," which also consisted of our present Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto, and rogue ninja, Uchiha Sasuke._

_With the two latter members off doing bigger and better things, the remaining two members, Hatake Kakashi and Haruno Sakura, have been left behind to their own devices and the result, it seems, is a budding romance._

_Yes, it's true that Hatake Kakashi was once Haruno Sakura's teacher, and yes, it's true that there is a gaping age difference of fourteen years between them, but is that stopping them? No! The couple have been seen all throughout the village on long walks together and can be frequently found at the ever popular ramen shop, Ichiraku Ramen, famed also as our present Hokage's favorite eating establishment._

_But this doesn't seem to be a mid-life crisis fling either. The couple were recently found at the Konoha cemetery in each other's embrace, mourning for a fallen comrade. No, whatever these two love birds have going on between them runs deep, based on years of friendship._

_Time can only tell if the love between these two will last amongst such controversial issues such as their large age difference and their former teacher-student relationship, but being the romantic that I am, I would like to believe that their long standing relationship as friends will help them through any trial and tribulations that may come their way now as lovers._

_After so much war and conflict, perhaps it's about time that this village had something else to consume their time with…Love, and the possibility of a happy ending._

_To Hatake Kakashi and Haruno Sakura, in the off chance that you might be reading this, more power to you. Let love rule!_

Whatever fury Sakura was feeling before somewhat dissipated. As far as gossip columns went, this one wasn't too bad. It was kind and encouraging even. The facts may have been all wrong, most especially the part about her and Kakashi being lovers, but overall, it wasn't too slanderous.

"That day at the cemetery when you wanted to talk to me about something, this was it, wasn't it?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes," Sakura said meekly.

"Why didn't you say something sooner?"

"How could I? You were devastated already. How could I tell you 'And oh, by the way, Kaka-sensei, everyone is gossiping about us and thinks that there's something going on between us, so maybe we should stop seeing each for a while. I know you're already upset about all your previous teammates abandoning you, but things being the way they are right now, I'm going to have to abandon you, too. Sorry about that! See ya!'"

"But you could have told me this morning, before we came here, back when were still at your office."

"I don't know. I guess I just naively thought that this would all blow over and that we could keep on doing what we've doing. We've been going out to lunch together for so long now, that it seemed kind of drastic to stop just because of some empty rumors."

"Except it's much bigger than that now, Sakura. We even made it in the _Konoha Enquirer_."

Sakura shrank in her seat and was just about to apologize to him when they heard a loud:

"You two are doing a HORRIBLE job at proving that you have no interest in each other!"

Sakura and Kakashi turned around to see no other than Ino standing behind them, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"How do you keep finding me at exactly the right moment to torment me?" Sakura asked, frowning at her friend.

"Easy…Because you two are ALWAYS out in public together making yourselves completely easy targets! And I see that you've read today's _Konoha Enquirer_. It's a bit too 'hopeless romantic' for my taste, but at least it's one of the kinder ones."

"What do you mean by that?" Sakura asked.

"You seriously think that this is the only paper jumping on the 'Kakashi loves Sakura, Sakura loves Kakashi' bandwagon? It's like every paper has something to say about you two! Some hate your relationship, disgusted by it even. Some are all for it and are eagerly waiting for your big wedding and lots and lots of pink and silver haired babies. Good or bad, you two are the talk of the village. Actually, Shikamaru said that he caught wind of your romance all the way at Sunagakure, so quite possibly you two are the talk of the entire ninja nation!"

"Oh god!" Sakura moaned, covering her face with her hands.

Kakashi simply had a wide eyed shocked expression on his face and beads of sweat running down his temples.

"What can we do to stop this insanity?" Sakura asked Ino. "Like I told you over and over again, there is NOTHING GOING ON BETWEEN KAKA-SENSEI AND ME!" Sakura said, standing up from her seat and turning around to face the crowd to make sure that every last person at Ichiraku's, even the crowd still waiting outside, could hear her.

"Simple, if you want people to stop talking about you two, then you two need to stop being seen together all the time. It's as easy as that." Ino said.

"Yes, I think Ino is right." Kakashi finally spoke up. "Maybe we should stop seeing each other for a while, Sakura, at least until this all dies down or they find something else to gossip about."

To Sakura's surprise, she felt her heart sink a little, which made no sense at all since she originally planned to tell Kakashi the exact same thing just the day before.

"You're right. You're both right," Sakura agreed despite the strange feeling in her chest. "This is getting completely out of hand and if we want to clear things up, maybe it's best if we just stopped seeing each other for a while."

"Okay, good. It's agreed on then." Kakashi said, but for some reason he didn't look relieved. He actually seemed a little crestfallen.

Ino looked between the two of them. "Killjoys," she said in a huff. "How am I supposed to amuse myself now if I can't harass you about your undying love for each other?"

"I don't know, Ino. I guess you'll just have to MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS FROM NOW ON, WON'T YOU?" Sakura said loud enough again so that everyone around them could hear. "I'm leaving," Sakura said angerly.

"Me too." Kakashi agreed.

Ino rolled her eyes. "Okay, may I just say that you two are off to an awful start at not being seen together."

Kakashi and Sakura exchanged a look. They had become so accustomed to going wherever the other went, that it didn't occur to them that such habits would have to stop.

"God, Ino, this is the last time we're going to see each other. At least let us leave together to say our goodbyes."

"Fine by me," Ino said, "But if you want this plan to work, it would probably be better if you went your separate ways starting now."

That strange heaviness returned to Sakura's heart, and that crestfallen look returned to Kakashi's eyes.

"Well, I guess I won't be seeing you for lunch tomorrow, Kaka-sensei."

"No, I guess not. Not for several tomorrows, actually."

"Maybe not ever again."

"Maybe, but I'm really glad that we got to do this for as long as we did."

"Me, too." Sakura said softly. "I'm glad that you started it."

"And I'm glad that you continued it," he smiled sadly at her.

"We'll see each other around," Sakura said, trying to sound optimistic.

"Yeah, of course."

"Just not every day like we have been."

"Right. I'll see you around, Sakura."

"I'll see you around, Kaka-sensei."

They didn't hug or touch each other whatsoever because it was far too risky. Who knew? There could be photographers taking multiple snapshots of them right this instant, but at least this time it would be the last snapshots those photographers would ever take of Kakashi and Sakura together ever again.

Sakura left first. She knew that if she got left behind with Ino, that it would be trouble. So, Sakura pushed her way through the Ichiraku crowd until she was far enough away to breathe in the cool outside air. Then, she jumped from rooftop to rooftop making a beeline for her office. She needed to do it quickly because if she didn't, she risked people on the street seeing her on the verge of crying.

Back at Ichiraku's, Ino turned to Kakashi. "Kaka-sensei, with all do respect," she began, "May I just say that forlorn look on your face isn't helping matters."

"Oh, right. Thanks, Ino." Kakashi said. He got up, too, shoved his hands in his pockets, and left Ichiraku's as quickly as he could.

Ino stared at his departing form. "Huh, how 'bout that?" she said to herself, because for all her teasing, that's all it had been...teasing. She liked getting under Sakura's skin. That was their thing ever since they were kids, but what Ino had just witnessed gave her pause. For all her joking around, maybe she had actually been on to something. The saddest part was that Sakura and Kakashi didn't know themselves that they were on to something, and now that they had sworn not to see each other anymore, there was no way for them to ever know that there was ever something there to begin with, and that something would never be able to grow into something more which could have been, quite possibly, quite wonderful.

To be continued…


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Without Sakura, Kakashi had gone back to his lone wolf ways, eating lunch by himself and reading _Icha, Icha_ at the most random places throughout the village. Most people like to read smut in the privacy of their own homes, but not Kakashi. He liked to read it in public on rooftops and treetops, anywhere, really. It wasn't that he was blatantly flaunting his taste in perversion, he was just doing his job.

With the wars over, his job now was to keep an eye on the village, not that there was much crime to begin with. After all, why would anyone risk breaking the law when they knew quite well that there was an army of elite ninjas keeping watch?

So, Kakashi reasoned both to himself and to other people if they ever bothered to ask, if he managed to catch someone breaking the law while in the midst of lounging around and reading _Icha, Icha_, then he did his job and earned his pay.

It was also through this reasoning that Kakashi justified his tendency to read his book up in a tree that just happened to have a clear view of the Konoha Hospital right when a certain pink haired kunoichi just happened to arrive for work early in the morning.

It also justified his reason for coming back to that same tree around the same time she left work later late that night.

He wasn't stalking, per say, he was just being particularly protective of the head of the medical staff. After all, what would they do without her? Kakashi tried to ignore the fact that Sakura was fully capable of protecting herself and one of the last people in the village who actually needed his protection.

In his heart, though, Kakashi knew the truth: He missed her, plain and simple.

He missed her friendship and the easy conversations that they used to have.

He missed the sound of her voice and the sound of her laugh.

He missed how she called him "Kaka-sensei" even though she really should stop calling him that at this point. It had been ages since he had last taught her, and if she really wanted to add some kind of honorific to his name, he thought "Kaka-san" might be more appropriate. He'd have to remember to tell her that, and then Kakashi's heart sank. When would he ever have the opportunity to tell her that?

Kakashi put his chopsticks and the cup of ramen in his hand down. He had just lost his appetite, not that he had much of one lately.

Out of all the things he missed about Sakura, he missed having lunch with her everyday the most. So, he had started a new routine. First, he would go to Ichiraku's and buy ramen to go. Then, he would return to his tree and eat his food while looking out towards the hospital. Even if Sakura didn't know it, Kakashi was close enough to be technically having lunch with her.

He never even saw her go out to lunch anymore. He just figured that she had gone back to her old ways of eating lunch alone at her desk. The thought saddened him. It made him feel sorry for her, and then it made him feel sorry for himself, eating Ichiraku Ramen alone up in a tree, trying to recreate what the two of them had before, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that this was a poor substitute for the real thing.

After weeks of this, Kakashi had had enough. He jumped down from his tree, bit his thumb, and slapped his hand onto the ground. A trail of words spiked out and circled around him before-

Poof!

A droopy faced pug was looking up at him. "You summoned me?" Pakkun asked.

"Yes, I need you to send a message to Sakura."

"Of course, Kakashi. What's the message?"

* * *

><p>Sakura poked at her bento box with her chopsticks. She had no appetite. There wasn't even anything wrong with her food since she had packed only her favorite things, but it wasn't even about the food, it was about the company, or more accurately, the lack of it.<p>

It had been a couple of weeks now since she and Kakashi had agreed to stop seeing other, but the truth was, she had missed Kakashi for all those weeks. She missed being able to talk to him and share with him things that she found interesting, or share with him things that she knew he would find interesting.

She didn't think it would be this hard. She thought that things would just go back to the way things were before they ever started having lunch together everyday, that it was like riding a bike and just a matter of getting used to the feel of it again, but...it wasn't.

Sakura ate at her desk and felt miserable. She kept thinking to herself "If I was with Kaka-sensei right now, we would be sitting at Ichiraku's eating huge, steaming bowls of ramen and having a nice conversation," but they weren't, and there wasn't even a possibility of them being able to have such moments together ever again.

Sakura sighed and tried not to feel sorry for herself, but it wasn't working.

Then, all of a sudden-

Poof!

On instinct, Sakura jumped out of her chair, stood up, and got into defensive mode, only to find herself ready to combat a pug who, after seeing her ready to attack him, covered his head with his tiny paws.

"Pakkun! What are you doing here?" Sakura asked, bringing down her hands and easing back to a more casual stance.

"Kakashi sent me," he said, bringing down his paws from over his head.

"He did? Is there trouble?"

"No, nothing like that. He just wanted me to send you a message."

"Oh, okay. What did he say?"

"He said that he doesn't like how things are right now. He says that he knows you both just did what needed to be done, but it doesn't feel right. He says that if you're open to it, he thinks he's figured out a way around the situation."

"Really? How?"

"He didn't tell me yet. He wanted for me to get your reaction first. He says that if you're okay with how things are now, then he'll leave things alone, but if you feel like this isn't right either, that he'll make the necessary arrangements."

"Tell him to go ahead and make the arrangements," Sakura said without hesitation. "Tell him that I'm glad to hear that he feels the same way that I do, that I hate the situation as much as he does. Let him know that I'm open to trying any ideas that he might have and that I'll be eagerly waiting for his response."

"Okay, I'll let him know."

"Thank you, Pakkun!"

"You're welcome, Sakura."

Sakura waited for him to immediately poof away, but for some reason he wasn't leaving just yet. Instead, Pakkun looked like he was hesitating to tell her something.

"Pakkun, what's wrong?"

"I need to tell you something, but I want to make sure you don't repeat it to Kakashi."

Sakura was taken aback. "Um, well, I guess it depends on what you're going to tell me. I can't make any promises until I know what I'm making a promise to first."

"And I can't tell you anything until you promise that you won't tell him."

"But I don't understand. Why can't I tell him?"

"Because it's about him and it's something I don't want him to know. Just trust me, Sakura, it's nothing bad, but it is something that I want to keep between just you and me."

"Okay, Pakkun. I trust you. I won't say anything to Kaka-sensei, so please just tell me."

"Well, I've known Kakashi since he was a kid and I was a pup, and through the years things have happened that have made him cautious of getting too close to other people, but things seem to be changing now, for the better. I've known you a long time now, too, and I know that you wouldn't ever do anything to hurt him, but as for Kakashi...Like I said, he has a history of pushing people away that he starts to really care about. I think it's a form of self preservation, but if he ever does the same thing to you, I want you to know that you shouldn't take it personally and stick with him anyway."

"Pakkun, why are you telling me all this?"

"Because for the first time in a long time, I think Kakashi's finally starting to heal. The fact that he's trying to meet up with you again in spite of all the risks, it says a lot. It's been a while, but I'm finally starting to feel something that I thought I would never feel again: Hope. Because of you, there's hope that Kakashi will learn to move on from his losses and just learn to be happy again."

"Oh, Pakkun, that's actually one of the sweetest things I've ever heard!"

"Just please don't tell him that we had this conversation, okay?"

"Okay, I promise. I won't say a word."

"Glad to hear that," Pakkun said, smiling at Sakura with his doggy smile. "I'll come back to you as soon as I can, okay?"

"Okay. See you soon," Sakura smiled back at him.

And then...Poof! Pakkun was gone.

Sakura went back to her desk, sat back down on her chair, and picked up her chopsticks again. For the first time in weeks, she finally had her appetite back and she was starving!

* * *

><p>Kakashi didn't usually fret. An enemy wanted to slice his head off? No problem. A monster the size of a village wanted to squish him like a bug? That's okay. People coming back from the dead wanting to make him dead also? Nothing shocked him anymore, not even that.<p>

But this...This was different.

Kakashi found himself pacing back and forth underneath his tree, his hands shoved in his pockets and scratching the back of his head nervously every now and then.

"Why is Pakkun taking so long?" he asked himself repeatedly.

To try to kill time, Kakashi tried reading _Icha, Icha_, but even though he had no problems reading his porn while fighting people off at the same time, he had problems focusing on even just one sentence while waiting for Sakura's response.

What if she didn't feel the same way? What if she saw the _Konoha Enquirer_ as a blessing in disguise? What if he had outstayed his welcome and this was just an easy way for her to say "Sorry, Kaka-sensei. It's been nice hanging out with you, but we really should stop. I should start hanging out with guys closer to my age and who weren't my teacher once, and you should start hanging out with women closer to your age and who weren't your student once. We'll always be friends, but I need to move on with my life, and so do you."

The worst of it would be that she would be right.

Then again, why did she look as heartbroken as he felt that day when they both realized that their daily lunch dates would have to come to an end? Dates? Was that what they were? But friends go out all the time and they don't call them dates, do they? Maybe they did. "You want to make a lunch date out of it?..."

Kakashi was still trying to wrap his head around this when-

Poof!

Pakkun finally made an appearance.

"What did she say?" Kakashi asked without pretense.

"She said that she's relieved to hear that you feel the same way that she does, that she hates the current situation as much as you do, and to do whatever you can to get around it. She said that she'll be eagerly awaiting your response."

Kakashi released a breath he didn't even know that he had been holding and a wave of relief washed over him. It hadn't been just him. She had felt the same way, and now she wanted him to do whatever he could to rescue her. Rescue _them_. Perhaps Sakura was in need of his protection, after all.

"That's my girl." Kakashi smiled, and Pakkun smiled his doggy smile right along with him.

To be continued...


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"I'm going out to lunch! I'll see you later!" Sakura said, waving goodbye.

"Have a good lunch!" her staff replied, waving back at her.

With that, Sakura left the hospital and made her way through the busy streets, not towards Ichiraku Ramen, but towards the Hokage Building.

Once she was there, she said hello to the guards who were standing on either side of the entry and walked right in. Then, she worked her way into the depths of the building until she made it to a particular door. When she opened it, she found Kakashi already sitting in one of the many chairs surrounding the large conference table. There was one Ichiraku Ramen in a large to-go cup in front of him, and another large cup sitting in front of the chair right next to his.

"Yo," Kakashi said, raising a hand up and smiling at Sakura.

"Hi, Kaka-sensei," Sakura said, smiling back and walking over to take the seat right next to his. "So, the Hokage meeting room, huh? How did you pull this off?"

"It was easy. I just made arrangements with Naruto asking if we could be part of his lunchtime guards from now on since his guards have to trade off for lunch anyway. Now we're part of his interior guard. If someone manages to get past the guards outside, we're in here ready to keep the enemy from getting into the building any further."

"Sounds good to me!" Sakura said, raising up her cup and Kakashi raised up his own cup and tapped it against hers in a toast. Then, they both happily dug into their ramen like old times.

"So what made you think of making the Hokage Building our new meeting place?" Sakura asked after she had already had several mouthfuls of noodles.

"Well, I was trying to think of a place where no one could bother us, and what building in Konoha is better protected than-"

"The Hokage Building," Sakura finished, smiling at him.

"Right. At first I was thinking that maybe we could take over for the rooftop guards so that we could eat outside, but then us being together outside, even on the Hokage rooftop, seemed too risky. Paparazzi could still take shots of us there, so I figured it would be better if we just stayed inside."

"That's too bad. It would have been nice to have lunch on the rooftop, but you're right, it's too risky. At least there's no chance of anyone getting any shots of us in here. There aren't even any windows in this room!"

"Owe that to the fact that they don't want any top secret intel leaking out of this room."

"Isn't it nice how that all works out? I'm really glad you figured this all out, Kaka-sensei. I hated having to eat lunch all by myself at my desk again."

"You're welcome. I'm just glad that you haven't gotten sick of having lunch with your old sensei by now."

"Funnily enough, I haven't. I actually really missed you." Sakura said, unable to keep the heat rising up to her face, so she faked a laugh to try to keep it light and casual.

"Really?" Kakashi asked, heat rising up to his own face. "Because I really missed you, too," he said, gripping the back of his neck in embarrassment.

Sakura looked shyly at him and Kakashi looked shyly at her and for a moment there was just awkward silence.

Sakura decided that now would probably be a good time to change the subject. "And what do mean by old? You're not that old, Kaka-sensei. You're thirty-six!"

"You don't think thirty-six is old?"

"No, of course not! It's not like you're eighty or something!" Sakura laughed, and right as these words flew out of her mouth, it occurred to her that someone else had said the exact same thing to her once...Ino.

"You know," Kakashi said, snapping Sakura out of her realization, "You should really stop calling me Kaka-sensei. I haven't been your teacher for the longest time."

"Okay, so what should I call you then?"

"How about Kaka-san?"

Sakura made a face.

"What? What's wrong with Kaka-san?" Kakashi asked, wide eyed.

"It's just so formal."

"And Kaka-sensei isn't?"

"No, you're right. 'Kaka-sensei' is formal, too, but I guess I don't see it that way because I've been calling you that for so long now. It's the same way that I've gotten used to Naruto calling me 'Sakura-chan' even though he's married now. It's like we all have our own nicknames for each other and they're never going to change no matter what the circumstances may be."

"So I guess that's a 'no' on Kaka-san?"

"I'm sorry, no. You'll always be Kaka-sensei to me even if you haven't been my teacher in forever," Sakura said, even though Ino's words of "You personally want to keep calling him that for some kinky kind of foreplay" was playing through her head. Sakura shoved the thought aside and told Kakashi instead, "Calling you Kaka-sensei and being able to hang out with you again, it feels like coming home, you know what I mean?" Sakura asked, smiling knowingly at him.

At first Kakashi didn't catch her meaning, and then it dawned on him that she was referring to the conversation that they had at the cemetery a while back. It was when he had said that reuniting with his former teammates, dead as they were, felt like reuniting with his family and that it always felt like coming home.

"Yes, I know what you mean. It is good to be back home, Sakura," Kakashi said, returning her smile.

And for a while, they just sat quietly side by side together in the meeting room, simply enjoying the warmth, comfort, and sheer joy of being in each other's company again.

* * *

><p>Once Sakura was back in her own office, she shut the door behind her and couldn't stop smiling to herself. There was nothing going on between her and Kakashi, just lunch and conversation like always, and yet here they were, sneaking around, trying to find ways to meet each other in secret. There was something fun and exciting about it. They weren't really doing anything wrong, not really, and yet it felt like they were getting away with something, and that something was exhilarating!<p>

To be continued…


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

_It's been a while since Hatake Kakashi and Haruno Sakura have made a public appearance together, bringing many to believe that their love fizzled out before it even had a chance to grow. However, anonymous sources have confirmed that in recent weeks the pair have been seen entering the Hokage Building everyday around midday in lieu of their previous favorite meeting spot, Ichiraku Ramen. _

_However, Teuchi, owner of Ichiraku Ramen, stated that he has not lost two of his favorite and most famous customers (next to our very own Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto, of course). Teuchi states that he still sees Hatake Kakashi everyday with him stopping by to purchase two cups of ramen to go, which brings one to speculate that Hatake Kakashi is bringing the second cup of ramen to none other than one Haruno Sakura. _

_Upon further investigation, a representative for the Hokage has stated that the Hokage himself hired the pair to relieve his regular guards during their lunch breaks, but one has to wonder..Is there more going on than meets the eye, and right beneath the Hokage's nose, too?_

_It seems that although our two lovebirds have gone into hiding, their love for each other has not fizzled out. Instead, it seems to be steaming up! After all, what have these two actually been up to behind closed doors? Is there the possibility of the pitter patter of little feet not long from now? Guess we'll just have to wait and see!_

"What is this? Dattebayo!" Naruto shouted, throwing the tabloid paper violently on his desk.

On the other side of his desk stood Kakashi and Sakura, looking both shocked and terrified.

"Naruto, let me explain-" Kakashi began.

"Are you sleeping with Sakura-chan? I'll kill you!" Naruto said, quickly jumping over his desk to make a grab for Kakashi.

Sakura shot between them and spread out her arms in an attempt to protect Kakashi.

"Naruto, listen!" Sakura shouted, but Naruto was currently ducking right and left underneath her arms, trying to take a jab at Kakashi. Meanwhile, Kakashi was ducking right and left behind Sakura, trying not to get hit.

"Naruto, stop!" Sakura tried again, but Naruto was too intent upon murdering his former teacher to hear her.

"SHANNARO!" Sakura shouted, grabbing Naruto by the collars of his Hokage robe and slamming his back against a wall, which immediately cracked into veins from the impact.

"Will you just listen to me, Naruto? There is nothing going on between, Kaka-sensei and me! I swear!" Sakura shouted inches from Naruto's face, making him wince.

Then, the door to Naruto's office suddenly flew open, and several of Naruto's guards came storming in.

Sakura and Naruto froze in place, looking wide eyed at the intruders.

The guards looked wide eyed at the scene of Sakura holding Naruto up against the wall.

Behind Sakura, Naruto, and the guards, Kakashi did a facepalm. Such threats against the Hokage were exactly the kind that he and Sakura were supposedly trying to protect Naruto from.

"Hehe." Naruto laughed in embarrassment, smiling sheepishly at the guards. "It's okay, guys. I'm okay. Sakura-chan and I were just talking, right, Sakura-chan?"

"Ahaha! Right!" Sakura laughed, immediately letting go of Naruto and letting him fall into an unceremonious heap on the ground. "We're just old friends having a little chat!" Sakura said, giving them her most winning smile.

The guards looked skeptically between them, but then Kakashi spoke up behind them.

"It's okay, guys. Good job on the immediate response. I'll take over from here," Kakashi said with all the authority he could muster.

"Hai, Kakashi-sama!" the guards replied, bowing in respect before filing out one by one.

Once the door was shut and it was again just the three of them, Kakashi turned to Naruto and Sakura.

"You two seem to have forgotten that you are no longer children and that your actions now have major consequences. Do try to be more careful, will you?"

"Yes, Kaka-sensei." Naruto and Sakura both mumbled in shame.

"Good." Kakashi said. It pleased him that even though he was talking to the current Hokage and the Fifth's former apprentice, that he was still able to pull rank on them. "Now will you please just let me explain?"

"Okay, fine, but it better be good!" Naruto said, crossing his arms tightly in front of his chest and frowning at Kakashi.

"First of all, I am not sleeping with Sakura."

"Definitely not!" Sakura chimed in.

"Second of all, don't listen to everything this paper has to say. It's a tabloid paper. The writers like to twist reality so that people will become so intrigued that they'll want to buy the paper."

"Yes, exactly! It's all lies, Naruto!" Sakura said, nodding emphatically.

"And third of all, there is nothing going on behind closed doors except Sakura and I having lunch together and talking. That's all we've ever been doing, but no one believes us, which is why I asked for the guard duty in the first place...So that we could get away from it all."

"That's it? You swear you're not sleeping with Sakura-chan?"

"I swear," Kakashi promised.

"So why does everyone think that you are?"

"I don't know!" Sakura said in exasperation. "According to Ino it's because Kaka-sensei is the world's most eligible bachelor and I'm the most eligible bachelorette, so everyone just naturally wants to put us together."

"But he used to be our teacher."

"Yes, I know."

"But he's old enough to be our dad!"

"Yes, I know."

"Wait, what? No, I'm not," Kakashi interrupted.

Naruto and Sakura both turned to look at Kakashi.

"Well, I'm not," Kakashi insisted. "I'm fourteen years older than you. That doesn't make me old enough to be your father, unless I had you when I was fourteen, which would make me a really, really young father."

Naruto and Sakura still stared at him.

"Oh, never mind." Kakashi said crestfallen.

"Regardless," Sakura said, turning back to Naruto, "None of it is true. It's all just empty rumors."

"But why? Why this rumor?" Naruto persisted.

"I don't know," Sakura said, truly perplexed. "Maybe because the wars are over and people are bored and need something to amuse themselves with? It doesn't help either that our old team is so famous. This rumor just adds fuel to the flame."

"So what are we going to do about this?" Naruto asked. "I can't just let you two keep coming here if it's going to cause this much trouble."

"Can't you make some sort of statement clarifying that Kaka-sensei and I are most definitely not in a romantic relationship?"

"I can try."

"Then let's try. The people trust you, Naruto, so they'll believe you."

"I can't believe I actually have to make a formal statement saying that you two aren't sleeping with each other. Who comes up with this stuff anyway? As if you two could ever be interested in each other!" Naruto laughed.

Kakashi looked at Sakura right when she looked at him, then they both quickly looked away, their faces heating up in embarrassment. Fortunately, Naruto was too busy trying to find a blank scroll and something to write his statement with to even notice.

To be continued...

* * *

><p>Thank you to Illuminated for your review. I vaguely had an idea of what I was going to do with this chapter, but your comment about how Naruto might react made it all come together, so thank you! =)<p> 


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Sakura picked idly at her food with her chopsticks. Alone, again. She hated this!

After Naruto had made his statement, the three of them agreed that it would probably be best if she and Kakashi stopped seeing each other for a while to give things time to cool down.

So here she was again, eating lunch by herself at her desk. This was ridiculous! It never even bothered her before, so why were things so different now?

_Kaka-sensei_, Sakura thought with a sigh. He was the new variable. She never really cared if she ate by herself before because she didn't know how good things could be if she had someone to share her lunches with.

Maybe that was all she really needed...A lunch buddy. It didn't necessarily have to be Kakashi. It could be anyone, really, like Ino.

Yes, Sakura decided. The next time she ran into Ino, she would ask her if she would want to have lunch with her from now on. Why hadn't she thought of this sooner?

* * *

><p>Sakura quickly realized why she hadn't thought of this sooner.<p>

"And oh my god, the flowers! I didn't think it would be this hard trying to figure out which ones I would want for my wedding, but it isn't all just one thing, you know? You need flowers for the bridesmaids, flowers for your bouquet, flowers for the flower girl. Then there's the reception and the church..."

Sakura kept her mouth shut and tried to nod her head in sympathy at the appropriate times as her best friend vented relentlessly on about the stresses of being a bride-to-be.

_At least you're a bride-to-be_, Sakura thought darkly.

Sakura was trying to be thrilled and excited for Ino, she really was, but honestly, when they were growing up Sakura was sure that she'd be the one to get married first, not Ino. On top of that, Sakura didn't think that she'd be one of the last ones in their circle of friends to be left single. For some reason, it seemed like everyone she knew was suddenly pairing off and getting married and having kids, except her. How did that happen?

As Ino droned on, Sakura tried to evaluate herself from a stranger's perspective.

She was attractive. She never really had any problems catching a guy's eye...except Sasuke's, but he was a different matter all together.

She was nice enough, smiling at everyone she met and trying to lend a hand whenever she could.

She was smart. She needed to be to remember all the various medical ninjutsus.

As for her downfalls...

Her temper. Her temper had always been her downfall. She tried to be good about it, she really did, but she couldn't help it when someone rubbed her exactly the wrong way. It didn't help either that she was a ninja. Her temper plus her ninja skills sent most civilians running the other way. It sent most fellow ninjas running the other way, too. Sakura wondered if that might have been one of the reasons why Naruto had chosen Hinata over her in the end. Hinata was so calm and even keel in comparison to her.

She also fell in love too fast. That was definitely one of her greatest downfalls. It was why she still had feelings for someone who had made it clear as day that he had no interest in her whatsoever.

She could be naive, naive in thinking that she could ever get the person she loved the most to love her in return.

She could be-

"And don't even get me started on trying to figure out the seating arrangements at the reception!" Ino cried hysterically.

Sakura smiled in sympathy and then decided to herself that she could also be too giving, putting other people first to the detriment of herself.

Maybe, Sakura decided, she should reconsider Ino as a lunch buddy...

* * *

><p>"It has to have good metal, you know? It can have the sharpest blade and the finest point, but what's the point if it just rusts or bends easily in the end?" Tenten stated more than asked.<p>

Sakura smiled and tried to look interested.

"And did you hear about the latest shurikens? They can travel twice the distance of the current ones, but have double the impact!" Tenten said beaming.

"That's great!" Sakura said, faking a smile.

"And oh! Have you seen the newest stainless steel kunais? They're so pretty! You don't even have to throw them at your enemies, you can just blind them with the kunai's extreme shininess!"

As a ninja herself, Sakura knew the value of a good weapon, but Tenten was obsessed! This wasn't exactly something she wanted to talk about all day. Maybe, Sakura thought, she should reconsider Tenten as a lunch buddy, too.

* * *

><p>"So he goes with you everywhere?" Sakura asked, trying to look over the large mass of white fur sitting precariously on the stool between them.<p>

"Of course! Akamaru and I are a team!" Kiba smiled toothily back at her, his canines gleaming.

"That's sweet." Sakura said, right as Akamaru licked her sloppily on the side of the face.

Sakura wiped at her wet cheek good naturedly and smiled at them. She had meant it. There was something sweet about a boy and her dog, and Sakura would have been fine with all of it until Kiba ate a mouthful of noodles, then slid his bowl over to Akamaru who wolfed down his own mouthful of noodles before Kiba reclaimed the bowl to eat some more. On and on they went, the same bowl of ramen sliding back and forth between them.

Sakura made a face. She couldn't understand why Kiba didn't just buy Akamaru his own bowl of ramen. She knew that they were inseparable, but did they really have to share everything, even this? Sakura loved animals as much as anybody, but there was something distinctly wrong and unsanitary about sharing a bowl of food with an animal that uses its own tongue as toilet paper.

Maybe Kiba wasn't such a great idea for a lunch buddy, after all, Sakura thought. She was a bit grossed out by his antics with his dog, and Sakura felt too much like a third wheel, too!

* * *

><p>"I just knew you'd come around someday!"<p>

"For the last time, Rock Lee, you got this all wrong! We are NOT on a date!" Sakura said, shoving one hand against his face and another hand against his chest.

"But you asked to go out to lunch with me, just the two of us!" Rock Lee insisted through still puckered lips.

"This is NOT A DATE!" Sakura said as loud as she could, shoving Rock Lee hard away from her. Rock Lee flew out of his stool, through the Ichiraku banners, landing hard on his butt on the dirt street outside.

A crowd of people gathered around him and asked if he was okay.

In response, Rock Lee said "I think she loves me!"

Sakura eyes widened in disbelief. "What was I thinking?!" she asked herself, shaking her head.

* * *

><p><em>What was I thinking?<em> Sakura asked herself while raising up her hands to protect herself from the incoming rain of ramen soup splatter.

Kakashi ate way too fast, too, but at least he was neat clean about it. Choji, however was far less well mannered and far more gluttonous.

"Thanks for inviting me to lunch, Sakura!" Choji managed to say before burping loudly and then downing yet another bowl of ramen.

Sakura smiled weakly at him and then hid behind her raised hands again._ I think I need a new set of friends! _Sakura thought helplessly.

* * *

><p>Sakura watched in awe and disbelief as she saw a line of what looked like baby cockroaches crawl out from the collar of Shino's shirt, down his jacket sleeve, down to the lunch counter to gather up a stray piece of noodle that had flown out of his bowl while he was eating, then quickly crawl back up his fingertips and back to the safety of his inside sleeve.<p>

Sakura, Teuchi, and everyone around them watched the entire thing with dropped jaws.

Needless to say, it was the last time Shino was ever welcomed to Ichiraku's again!

* * *

><p>"So how are things with Temari?" Sakura asked.<p>

"How troublesome." Shikamaru mumbled.

"Temari is troublesome or my asking how Temari is is troublesome?" Sakura asked confused.

"All of the above." Shikamaru said, crossing his arms tightly across his chest.

Sakura sat next to him wide eyed and speechless.

She knew that it wasn't anything personal. It was just Shikamaru being Shikamaru. He didn't like being bothered. He would much rather just stare up at the clouds all day and contemplate life in depth. He was a thinker, not a talker, which unfortunately went against what Sakura was looking for in a lunch buddy.

* * *

><p>"Hi, Ugly. Thank you for inviting me to lunch. I read in my book that it's appropriate to talk about current events during such meetings, so I was wondering, what do you think about Mr. Small Penis being our current Hokage?" Sai asked, giving his best imitation of a smile.<p>

Sakura blinked and opened up her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

Maybe the least socially skilled person in the entire village, perhaps the entire ninja nation, was not quite what Sakura was looking for in a lunch buddy.

* * *

><p>"So how are things between you and Naruto?" Sakura asked.<p>

"They're good. We aren't getting much sleep, though, because of this little one," Hinata said, smiling gently down at the stroller parked next to her stool.

Sakura smiled down at the stroller, too, where baby Minato was currently sucking his thumb and sleeping. Like his namesake, baby Minato had fine, feathery strands of blond hair, but in the rare moments that he actually opened up his eyes, Sakura could see that his eyes weren't the deep blue of his father's, but the white of his mother's.

"Is that-" Sakura began.

"Yes," Hinata nodded proudly.

"This kid has everything!" Sakura said amazed. "He's heir to not one, but two Hokages and he has the Byakugan!"

"I know! Isn't it wonderful!" Hinata said enthusiastically.

"Naruto must be so proud!"

"He is and he's such a good dad, too!"

"I'm sure he is," Sakura smiled, trying not to show the sadness she felt. She felt like a kunai was being twisted in her heart. Naruto had always been Hinata's version of her Sasuke, but it was still a constant reminder of what she couldn't have and it was too painful to watch.

No, Sakura decided, she would have to stay away from Hinata and Naruto even if Hinata was the most pleasant one from her circle of friends. Sakura would need to keep her distance out of sheer self preservation.

* * *

><p>Back alone at her desk, Sakura poked disinterestedly at her bento box with her chopsticks. She wasn't really hungry. If anything, she was more lonely than hungry.<p>

_God I miss you, Kaka-sensei_, Sakura thought mournfully. Who knew that out of all her friends, he would be the one that she would want to hang out with the most? Surely there was something they could do so that they could be together again? Right as Sakura was thinking this-

Poof!

Sakura couldn't help but jump out of her chair. You can't help it when something suddenly appears out of thin air in your room without warning.

"Pakkun, what are you doing here?" Sakura asked in surprise.

"I have a message from Kakashi. He says that he has another idea of how to get around the current situation."

"Well let's hear it then! I'm all ears!" Sakura said eagerly, unable to keep the huge smile from her face. She just knew that Kakashi would come through!

To be continued...


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Sakura bowed down and breathed in the sweet, pleasant fragrance of the flowers in front of her, then handed the merchant some money to buy a bouquet to put in a vase at home.

Up on a rooftop, Kakashi laid back against the tiles, his head pillowed against one folded arm, engrossed in a copy of _Icha, Icha_.

In another part of the village, another Sakura was at the market buying groceries.

In another part of the village, another Kakashi was just walking into the Hokage building.

Sakura was going to the hospital.

Kakashi was walking down the street talking to Tenzo.

Sakura was shopping with Ino.

Kakashi was walking down the street, hands shoved in his pockets, purposely ignoring his eternal rival, Might Guy.

Sakura was walking down the same street, but on the opposite sidewalk, trying to get away from Rock Lee.

Meanwhile, far away from the busy village, in the depths of Training Ground 3, hidden amongst the thick foliage of a tree, the real Kakashi sat high up in one of its branches, his back against the trunk, poking at his to-go cup of ramen with his chopsticks. On the other side of the same tree trunk, the real Sakura sat on her own branch, her back also against the trunk, poking at her own to-go cup of ramen.

"So," Kakashi was saying, "None of them worked out?"

Sakura shook her head in dismay. "No, none of them. I felt like Goldilocks and they were the Nine Bears, but none of them were just right!"

"Not even Ino? I'm surprised."

"She's too caught up in wedding stuff right now. I think that once it's all done and over with, things will go back to normal."

"You sure about that? She'll be a married woman soon and she'll have different priorities. Just look at Naruto and Hinata."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I guess that things will never be the same again."

Kakashi turned his head to look around the tree trunk at her. "You sound sad about it," he said.

Sakura kept her eyes on her ramen, still poking at it with her chopsticks. "I am. Everything is changing now. Everyone is pairing off. Everyone is getting married or is already married, or about to have children or already have children, and I feel-"

"Left behind."

"Well, yeah." Sakura said, finally turning her own head to look at Kakashi. "Don't you feel the same way?"

"Um..." Kakashi began.

"Oh, sorry!" Sakura said, realizing her mistake. "I didn't mean to-"

"No, it's okay. I know you didn't mean anything by it."

"Well, how do you deal with it? How do you cope with being left behind? How do you survive the loneliness?"

"I used to ask myself the same thing everyday, but I learned that if you look out instead of in, that helps make it more bearable."

"How do you mean?"

"I mean that there are plenty of other lonely people out there and if you just reach out to them, it not only helps them, but you, too."

"Is that how that works? Am I one of your charity cases?"

"I'd hang out with you anyway, Sakura. You're not bad company."

"Thanks, Kaka-sensei. You're not too bad yourself," she smiled at him. "Good job, by the way, figuring all this out."

"The Kage Bunshins? No problem. I figured that if they could work out on the field, they could work out in the village."

"You just know that this isn't going to last, though. It's just a matter of time before someone figures out that there's more than just one of each of us walking around and comes looking for the real us."

"Yes, I know, but at least for now we can enjoy it."

"Yes, that's true, but aren't you getting tired of us constantly have to sneak around like this?"

"I am. I'm tired of constantly trying to figure out ways for us to meet each other like this."

"So what do you think we should do?"

"Honestly? I think we should just go out in the open."

"Are you sure about that? You've seen what it's like whenever we're out in public together. The media goes nuts! They're all convinced that you and I are a thing."

"Well maybe if we keep going out together and show them that there's nothing going on between us, they'll eventually lose interest."

"So that's your plan, to ride out the storm?"

"Do you have a better plan?"

"You mean besides clobber anyone who sings 'Kakashi and Sakura sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!'?"

Kakashi laughed. "Well, we are sitting in a tree."

"I am not kissing you, Kaka-sensei!"

"I wasn't expecting you to, Sakura." Kakashi laughed again. "Don't let them get to you. Just like your song, they're just taunting us. It doesn't mean anything."

"Okay, but if I get sued for causing someone extreme bodily damage, I'm blaming it all on you!"

"You'll be fine, Sakura."

"Well, you have more faith in me than I do."

"You'll be fine," Kakashi repeated. "How about we just enjoy the peace and quiet while we can?"

"Before the storm?"

"Before the storm."

So they sat somewhat side by side up in their tree, finishing their ramen, both of them secretly finishing the children's song that Sakura had started in their head because it's catching and because they're both a little OCD that way:

"..._First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Sakura with a baby carriage!_"

To be continued...


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"I can't believe I'm doing this! How could you let me do this?" Ino asked, pacing back and forth in one of the back rooms of the church.

"You'll be fine, Ino." Sakura said, trying to sound as reassuring as she could.

"But what if I mess it all up?"

"How can you mess it all up?"

"What if I say something or do something that makes him not want to be married to me anymore? I don't think I could handle that!"

"Well you have to get married first before you can worry about any of that!"

"What if I just don't get married at all? That way I can prevent anyone from getting hurt later down the line."

"Ino, if you don't marry him today, you'll definitely hurt him now and most likely for the rest of his life! Do you really want to do something like that to him?"

"No, of course not! I love him!"

"Then stop worrying about what may or may not happen in the future and just marry him!"

But Ino was still pacing.

Sakura grabbed Ino's upper arms and forced her to stop and look her in the eyes. "You can do this, Ino. We practiced this during rehearsal. Now all you have to do is do it again, but in nicer clothes."

"All I have to do is do it again."

"Yes, exactly! I know you can do this because you've already done it!"

"But this time it's for real!" Ino began to cry. If it wasn't for Sakura's firm grip around Ino's upper arms, Ino probably would have already collapsed to the ground.

"Ino! Snap out of it! You can do this! I know you can! It's bad enough that you're getting married before me, but I'm not going to let you throw this all away either! Do you have any idea how badly I want what you have right now? A wedding dress, an engagement ring, a groom and a church full of people waiting for you to walk down that aisle. I'd give anything to be in your shoes right now, but this isn't my moment, it's yours! This is your day! So get a grip, Ino, and own it!"

Ino's wailing had died down significantly during Sakura's rant. "I knew there was a reason why I made you my maid of honor." Ino said sniffling.

"Oh, Ino!" Sakura laughed, bringing her best friend in for a hug and Ino hugged her right back. "You made me your maid of honor because you knew I'd kick your butt if you didn't!"

"What are you talking about? You're kicking my butt now even when you're already my maid of honor!" Ino said, starting to laugh, too.

"And whose fault is that? You think I'd take this pathetic display of cold feet lying down?"

"No, of course not."

"Of course not." Sakura repeated, gently stroking Ino's hair as Ino laid her head on her shoulder and tried to clean up her runny nose with a tissue the best she could.

"I'll miss you." Ino said softly.

"What are you talking about? I'm not going anywhere, silly!"

"But things will never be the same again!" Ino said, starting to wail again.

"Oh, Ino! I know they won't, but it doesn't have to be a bad thing, you know? Listen, I'll be there for you when you and your husband have your first fight. I'll be there for you when you first find out that you're pregnant. I'll be there to tell you that you're still beautiful and it's all totally worth it when your belly starts to grow and you start complaining about feeling fat. I'll be there when you bring that baby into this world. I'll probably even be your medic."

"What do you mean by 'maybe'?" Ino asked, raising her head up from Sakura's shoulder to look her in the eyes.

"Okay, I'll _definitely_ be your medic when you have a baby."

"And any kid I have after that?"

"Of course! And afterwards, you can talk to me about how hard it is to be a mom and a wife, and I'll listen and sympathize, but I'll be the cool aunt that your kids look up to and want to hang out with. So yeah, things will be different, but it doesn't have to be a bad thing. More people will just be added to our little circle, that's all."

"I'd really like that."

"I'd really like that, too."

"Thank you, Sakura."

"You're welcome, Ino."

A light knocking on the door made them both turn around to see Tenten peeking in on them.

"Is everything okay?" she asked concerned.

"Yes, absolutely! Right, Ino?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, we're all good." Ino said, taking one last quick look at the mirror and freshening up her tear stained face the best she could.

"It's okay," Sakura said soothingly, "That's what this is for," she said as she grabbed the veil that was hanging down Ino's back and let it fall softly over Ino's face instead.

"Thank you, Sakura...again. Always."

"Oh, Ino, stop! Now you're going to make me cry!" Sakura said, already starting to wipe at her eyes with the heels of her hand.

Ino laughed and hugged Sakura who hugged her back.

After a while, Sakura pulled back from Ino and asked, "So are you ready now?"

"Yes, I'm ready." Ino smiled back at her.

"Then let's do this!"

Then Sakura grabbed the train of Ino's wedding dress to make sure that it didn't drag on the ground and they both walked out of the room to face the world together.

* * *

><p>When Ino and Sakura finally got around to the front of the church, they saw that the wedding entourage was already lined up at the entrance.<p>

"Good luck!" Sakura said, quickly squeezing Ino's hand before running off to frantically look for her place in line.

"Thank you!" Ino said, quickly squeezing Sakura's hand back before taking her own place at the very back of the line.

Sakura found Kakashi and quickly took her place next to him.

"Is everything okay?" he asked as Sakura slid her hand into the crook of his arm.

"Yes, all good!" she said, smiling up at him.

"We were all worried for a while."

"Sorry! Ino was having cold feet, but it's all good now."

Kakashi wanted to ask her more about it, but the music was already starting inside of the church and the line was starting to inch forward.

"Let's do this, dattebayo!" Naruto said in front of them, and as he and Hinata began to walk arm and arm into the church, Kakashi and Sakura followed after them.

Kakashi and Sakura knew that their being paired up together during the walk down the aisle was only going to make everyone else's perception of them being a romantic couple worse, but it was what it was. What could they do about it now? They had tried changing partners during rehearsals, but seeing how everyone was already paired off with their significant other, Kakashi and Sakura naturally got stuck with each other. Besides, today wasn't even about them. Plus, they were already committed to face whatever public scrutiny they might receive because apparently, no matter what they did, everyone saw them as a couple anyway.

So, Kakashi and Sakura walked arm and arm down the aisle, their backs straight and their heads held up high. Let everyone think whatever they wanted to think. What was the point of fighting them anymore?

Once they made it to the front of the church, they both bowed at the altar then parted ways, Sakura walking towards the left to take her place with the other bridesmaids and Kakashi walking towards the right, taking his place with the other groomsmen.

Asuma should have been one of the groomsmen, too, which was not lost on anyone, but Ino made sure that his daughter with Kurenai was the flower girl. Asuma himself may not have been able to be there, but his blood ran through his child's veins, so he was there and more than just in spirit.

Once almost the entire entourage was inside, the church doors closed and the music changed to announce the coming of the bride. All eyes were towards the back of the church when the doors opened again to reveal Ino looking ever like the radiant bride arm in the arm with her mom. Inoichi should have been there to walk his daughter down the aisle, but such is the shinobi's life and death. Weddings are known to make some people cry. In shinobi weddings, however, some of the reasons are a bit clearer.

When they finally made it to the front of the church, Ino's mom handed Ino off to Choji. Perhaps it would comfort Inoichi to know that his daughter was being married off to his best friend's son.

"Choji. Who knew?" Ino had confided in Sakura a while back. "I never saw him that way before, you know? But then one day, I saw something in him I never saw before and I just knew that I would never see him the same way ever again."

The present Ino, the bride Ino, now looked at Choji with a softness in her eyes that Sakura knew was gifted onto no one else.

_Love is a strange thing_, Sakura thought, _the way it can be suddenly turned on like a switch_.

They made such an unlikely couple, especially since at the beginning Ino had been so turned off by Choji's weight, but now it was clear that she saw beyond his appearance and saw him for the kind and caring human being he really was. It had taken years to happen, but it happened nonetheless.

Sakura thought of other unlikely couples who were happily married now, like loud and obnoxious Naruto and quiet and shy Hinata, and laid-back Shikamaru and demanding Temari. She had always heard that "opposites attract," but she didn't realize just how much so. Maybe it was to create a balance so that one would bend when the other blew because like reeds in the wind, they will break if one isn't giving.

_Maybe that's the reason why they keep pairing me up with Kaka-sensei_, Sakura thought. She knew that she could be quick to anger, but Kakashi was so mild tempered in comparison. Maybe they thought that he would bend when she blew. Maybe they thought that he would be the one to finally tame the shrew. He was so many years older than her, but maybe that's what it took to deal with her sudden outbursts of anger...his extra years of maturity.

_What if_...Sakura began to wonder, but her thoughts were interrupted by the minister proclaiming:

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony."

And Sakura pushed all "What ifs" aside because her best friend was getting married and she was the maid of honor. There were rituals to be done and a high maintenance bride to take care of, and seeing how Sakura almost considered her former sensei in one of those "What ifs," she really needed to put any "What ifs" off until much, much later when she wasn't blinded by the haze of marital bliss.

* * *

><p>Kakashi stood near the open bar not really drinking. It was apparent that he was just waiting for the ballroom to open up so that he could finally sit down. Sakura considered walking over to him to keep him company, but thought better of it. Just because she and Kakashi both agreed not to hide from the public anymore didn't mean that she wanted to toss them the torches to burn them with either, so she kept her distance and was relieved to see Yamato start talking to Kakashi in lieu of her. That should have been Sakura's cue to look away and pay better attention to the conversation Tenten and Hinata were having right next to her, but she didn't. Instead, Sakura kept stealing glances over at Kakashi's direction whenever she thought it was safe enough to do so.<p>

_He looks handsome_, Sakura thought. She had seen him in a tux before for everyone else's weddings, but for some reason this time she really noticed him. She noticed how he towered over everyone else, how lean his frame was, how broad his shoulders and chest were, how defined the silhouettes of his nose and jaw were in spite of his mask. It was no wonder women, and even a few men, swooned after him. Kakashi was a catch. If he wasn't so reserved and aloof sometimes, she was sure that he could get anyone he wanted, several someones, actually, if he were the type, but that's the thing...He wasn't the type to sleep with several different people. He wasn't the type to sleep with even one. Sure he was more than happy to indulge in his smut literature, but when it came to the real thing, he shied away.

_Things have happened that have made him cautious of getting too close to other people_, Pakkun had said.

Sakura wondered what would have happened if Rin had lived. She wondered if Kakashi would have married her and had children with her. Sakura was positive that he would have, and she was also sure that his personality would have been different, too. He would have been less self contained, less tortured. He would have been more open to people and happier.

"Wouldn't you agree?"

"Huh?" Sakura asked confused.

"The wedding. Wouldn't you agree that it was beautiful?" Tenten asked again.

"Oh, yes! It was lovely!" Sakura agreed.

Tenten quickly glanced in the direction Sakura had been looking and smiled a little in realization, but said nothing.

Sakura felt her face heat up at being caught, but was grateful that Tenten was good enough of a friend to not bring up to Hinata how she had just discovered Sakura staring at Kakashi.

Too afraid to get caught again, Sakura kept her eyes focused on her two girl friends instead of Kakashi and made herself concentrate on what they were saying even if it was all just small talk on how nice the wedding had been.

* * *

><p>Kakashi was relieved that Tenzo had come over to keep him company, but he found his eyes and his thoughts constantly wandering over to Sakura instead. She was standing in a small circle with Tenten and Hinata, and while the other two girls were also quite lovely, it was only Sakura that Kakashi had eyes for.<p>

_She's really grown up to be a lovely young woman_, Kakashi thought. Sakura was no longer the silly, boy crazy, 12 year old girl he had first met. Now she was this mature, beautiful, 22 year old woman who stood on her own two feet and took crap from no one. She was an accomplished medic, head of her staff, the Fifth's former apprentice, and bearer of the Strength of a Hundred Seal. She was a force to be reckoned with.

_She's not hard on the eyes either_, Kakashi thought, daring to steal glances at her when he was sure that no one was looking. He admired how her deep purple bridesmaid's dress accentuated all her best physical features: the smoothness of her bare shoulders, back, and slender arms, her curves at all the right places: her chest, hips, and butt.

"Oh, it looks like we can finally go in," Tenzo said, snapping Kakashi out of his reverie.

"Oh, good." Kakashi said casually, his eyes half hooded. He gave no indication whatsoever of where his thoughts had just been. Then he followed Tenzo and the rest of the crowd into the ballroom.

* * *

><p>Sakura either didn't notice or pretended not to notice, but practically every person, both male and female alike, took notice of her as she moved past them and the expressions on their faces showed that they were having the exact same thought as Kakashi: <em>She's stunning<em>.

And now this unbelievably stunning creature was walking straight towards him. When she saw him, her eyes lit up and she gave him a warm smile and he smiled back at her. Kakashi felt his heart start to race and he couldn't understand why. This was just Sakura, whom he had known for years. There was no reason whatsoever for him to be feeling this way.

"Kaka-sensei! I was looking for you!" Sakura said.

"You were?" he asked in wide eyed surprise.

"Yeah! The seating chart outside says that we're at the same table. See?" Sakura said, pointing down to her nameplate.

Kakashi looked down at the table and saw that Sakura's nameplate was indeed right next to his.

Meanwhile, Naruto, who was already seated asked, "Why would Ino make me sit so far away from my wife?!" he complained, looking longingly at Hinata and their baby sitting at a distant table with Kurenai and her 7 year old daughter.

Kakashi and Sakura's eyes widened in surprise, and then Sakura suddenly started to laugh, making both Kakashi and Naruto look at her curiously.

"Ino was complaining to me about trying to figure out the seating arrangement," Sakura began, "And I think she just got so sick of it that she took the easy way out and sat everyone by their old teams!"

"You know what? I think you're right." Kakashi said, starting to smile himself, because as he read the rest of the nameplates at their table, he noticed that Sai and Tenzo were also assigned to sit with them, and as he looked around the ballroom, he saw that others were also seated with their old teammates and team leaders. Shikamaru was the only exception since he would have found himself sitting alone. So instead, he was surrounded by his kids, his wife, Temari, and her brothers, now his brothers-in-law, Gaara and Kankuro.

"I can't believe she did that!" Naruto said, crossing his arms tightly across his chest and frowning.

"You can always switch later," Sakura said trying to comfort him. "Just wait until after we've eaten."

"Okay." Naruto said, still looking petulant.

Sakura smiled at him amused. It didn't matter that he was Hokage. Naruto would always be Naruto and all his accolades couldn't prevent the bratty side of him from showing up every now and then, but that's what made him so likeable. He wasn't pretentious or fake. He only knew how to be himself, his sweet, lovable, down-to-earth self.

* * *

><p>After everyone had eaten and there was the married couple's first dance, and then the motherdaughter dance, and the mother/son dance, it was time to throw the bouquet.

Sakura really, _really_ didn't want to be a part of it, but she was basically the only bachelorette left and the DJ was so desperate to get a group together that he called all bacherlorettes, regardless of age, to go to the middle of the ballroom. That was how Sakura found herself standing among little girls still too young to get married and a few really old old maids.

Tsunade stood with her arms crossed tightly across her ample bosom. She had no intention of catching the damned thing. The two people she ever truly loved were long gone now and she had no interest in finding a replacement. The only reason she stood here now was because she was forced onto the ballroom floor like Sakura. Besides, it was too pathetic to let her apprentice stand in the middle of the ballroom all by herself. At least this way there was a somewhat decent group waiting to catch the bouquet.

Ino turned around and winked at Sakura over her shoulder. Sakura's heart sank. She knew that no matter what, Ino was planning to throw the bouquet directly to her. Sakura shook her head visibly "No," but Ino was nodding her head enthusiastically "Yes!"

"One! Two! Three!" the DJ shouted.

And the bouquet flew through the air in a perfect arc, landing neatly in Sakura's reluctant hands.

"Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to your future bride!" the DJ announced, sounding very much like a game show host.

Sakura raised the bouquet up slightly and smiled in such a manner that said "Uh, yeah. Guess that's me."

* * *

><p>Not long after, Choji was triumphantly waving in circles the garter he had just removed from Ino's leg. Now it was the bachelors' turn to gather up into a group and try to catch the prize.<p>

There were quite a few more bachelors than bachelorettes, so Kakashi didn't even bother to join in. Instead, he took out his _Icha, Icha_, which he had tucked behind his trousers and kept hidden beneath the tail of his tuxedo jacket, and began to read.

"One, two, three!" the DJ announced.

Kakashi jolted a little as he felt something land on his head. Meanwhile, everyone around him was laughing because apparently, the garter had landed like a horseshoe on a peg on one of the spikes of his hair.

"And we have our future groom!" the DJ announced.

Kakashi's eyes widened and sweat began to bead at his temples.

* * *

><p>"Don't make me do this!" Sakura pleaded.<p>

"C'mon! It's just for fun! Nobody takes this stuff seriously anyway! Do it for me, please? It's my wedding, after all." Ino insisted.

"Okay, fine!" Sakura huffed. "But you just know this is going to create havoc once the media gets a hold of this!"

"They wreak havoc anyway, so just have fun and go meet your future husband!" Ino said, pushing Sakura stumbling back into the middle of the ballroom. Using her ninja skills, Sakura quickly regained her footing and smiled sheepishly at everyone who was looking at her. In the middle of the ballroom someone had placed a chair specifically for her. She dutifully sat in it.

Not a minute later, Kakashi also stumbled into the middle of the ballroom and quickly regained his footing. Sakura didn't see who had the nerve to push the famous Copy Ninja. She had been too preoccupied with her own humiliation to notice. Kakashi grabbed the back of his neck in embarrassment and walked over to where Sakura sat.

"All right, ladies and gentlemen! It's the moment you've all been waiting for!" the DJ announced. If only he knew how badly two elite ninjas wanted to kill him right now.

Sakura could feel her face burning in embarrassment as she hiked up her skirt to reveal her thigh. There were a few ensuing whistles and cat calls. She wanted to crawl up in a hole and die!

Meanwhile, Kakashi was visibly sweating at the temples as he knelt down on one knee before her and gingerly took her foot in his hands and placed it on one of his knees. Then using both hands, he began to slip the garter up past her toes, foot, and ankle, bringing the garter higher and higher up her leg. It felt like it was taking forever even though Sakura knew her legs weren't that long and it wasn't like Kakashi was purposely delaying either. He wanted to get this done and over with as quickly as she did!

Finally, the garter snapped into place just a little above Sakura's knee. Kakashi probably could have brought it up higher, but was too embarrassed to do so, and although he had initially touched Sakura's foot and ankle to place her foot on his knee, beyond that, he had scooted the garter up in such a way that his fingertips never brushed against the skin of her leg or thigh even once.

"And there we have it!" the DJ announced triumphantly, "Our future bride and groom! Take a bow!"

Still embarrassed, Sakura took Kakashi's proffered hand and stood up next to him, then they both graciously bowed at the same time. They could only imagine what the tabloids would have to say about all this. Well, they were preparing for a storm, after all. Now it looked like it was going to be a typhoon!

To be continued...


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**KONOHA ENQUIRER**

**AKIMICHI CHOJI WEDS YAMAKA INO**

**FULL COVERAGE**

**PHOTOS AND STORY PAGES 1-12**

**KAKASAKU STRIKES AGAIN!**

**PHOTOS AND STORY PAGES 13-16**

* * *

><p>page 13<p>

**KAKASAKU STRIKES AGAIN!**

Amidst all the hubbub of the union of elite ninjas Akimichi Choji and Yamaka Ino (see full coverage on pages 1-12), there is another power couple on the rise...Hatake Kakashi and Haruno Sakura! Or, as fans and supporters of the pairing have begun endearingly calling them, KakaSaku!

While KakaSaku tried to stay low key during the wedding of the year, they failed miserably. From the start, the two were seen arm in arm together as they walked down the aisle during the wedding entourage (see photos on this page) and were even named future bride and groom as Haruno Sakura caught the wedding bouquet and Hatake Kakashi "caught" the garter, seeing how it landed right on his head! (See photos on pages 14-16.)

In past articles we have covered how KakaSaku have been frequently seen in public together, then went into hiding, only to be ultimately caught sneaking around together. Now it seems that the Fates themselves have thrown their stamp of approval upon the pair with or without their consent. The aforementioned photos show the pair looking quite dazed and embarrassed at being named the future bride and groom, but good naturedly went along with the wedding game anyway. Normally, the game isn't taken too seriously, but considering this pair's recent track record, it may be more of an omen than just a lighthearted game! Time can only tell if this prediction will come to fruition, but when and if it does, rest assured that the _Konoha Enquirer_ will be right there to provide full coverage!

* * *

><p>"KakaSaku?" Kakashi asked wide eyed.<p>

"It's the first part of your name and my name combined. It's what they do when they try to turn a couple into a single entity. God, I just knew that this was going to happen! I _told_ Ino that it wasn't a good idea to keep putting us together at the wedding like that!" Sakura said, holding her head in her hands.

"Do you want to start meeting in secret again?"

"No, you were right the first time. No matter what we do, they're just going to keep finding something on us and twisting it to their own purposes, so we might as well keep living out our lives and wait out the storm until they find some other bone to chew on!"

"Okay, but this isn't going to be easy."

"Since when in our lives has anything ever been easy?"

"Point made. That being said, are you ready to go?"

"As I'll ever be." Sakura said, hanging up her lab coat on the hook behind her door. Then they both walked out of her office. "We're going out to lunch. I'll be back in an hour." Sakura announced to her staff.

"Have a good lunch!" they replied back, all of them smiling far too wide and far too enthusiastically at the two of them, and as soon as Kakashi and Sakura were outside, they could hear the excited commotion emanating from the other side of the door full of "Did you see that? They're so cute together!" "I don't know. He's far too old for her and he used to be her teacher. Talk about robbing the cradle!" "Well I think they're adorable. He has a reputation for being very protective of her, you know? And I think it's sweet!"

Kakashi and Sakura both turned to each other and exchanged weary looks.

And so it began.

* * *

><p>"Oh hell no!" Sakura said, already starting to turn back the same way she had came, but Kakashi grabbed her upper arm to stop her.<p>

"Sakura, we said we'd keep doing things like normal. If we turn back now, we're doing the complete opposite of that."

"Do you not see that mob?!" Sakura said hysterically, throwing an arm out to the ridiculous crowd gathered at Ichiraku's. It looked like it had doubled in size since the last time they had been there, and that crowd had already been big to begin with. "How much do you want to bet that they're all waiting for us to arrive? And how much do you want to bet that we're going to be blinded by camera flashbulbs once we're in there?"

"I know it's going to be a circus and I know it sounds insane to walk right into the lion's den-"

"Insane is right!"

"BUT I also know from past experience that hiding doesn't help. It only makes things worse because their imaginations run wild and they think that I'm impregnating you behind closed doors. At least this way they can see for themselves that we're just having lunch and talking, nothing more."

Sakura looked from Kakashi to the mob, then back to Kakashi. "You're right," she said slumping. "But you're going first and if they kill us I'm going to kill you!" Sakura said, shaking a fist in his face.

Kakashi's eyes widened and a bead of sweat trickled down his temple. "Right. Um, right after me then," he said leading the way.

"There! It's them!" someone in the crowd shouted, and soon there were camera flashes going off, squealing fans, shouts of "Is it true? Are you two officially together now?" and "Kakashi! Sakura! Right here!" as a few photographers tried to get them to look directly into their camera lens.

"You are so dead." Kakashi heard Sakura mumble at him.

"Ahaha!" he laughed nervously.

"Let them through! Let them through! If you don't let them through and leave them be, you're all out of here! You hear me?!" Teuchi shouted at the crowd while waving a rolling pin threateningly above his head.

The ruckus quieted down considerably and the crowd parted respectfully for Kakashi and Sakura to allow them to make their way to the lunch counter. Two stools were already vacated for them and they both sat down gratefully.

"Now you let them eat in peace or I swear you'll regret it!" Teuchi shouted, punctuating each word with a wave of his rolling pin.

There was a wave of acknowledgement throughout the crowd and the air of chaos simmered down.

"Thank you." Kakashi and Sakura both said to Teuchi.

"Of course!" Teuchi said. "I'm not going to let some rabid fans harass two of my best customers!" he said while placing two steaming bowls of ramen in front of them.

Kakashi and Sakura thanked him again and tried to eat their ramen. They lost most of their appetite while fighting their way through the crowd, but they felt obligated to eat since Teuchi had gone out of his way just so they could do so.

"I don't know if we can keep doing this." Sakura said softly to Kakashi after a few meager bites.

"It's only the first day, Sakura. The first days are always the hardest."

"Okay, if you say so," she said, trying to choke down another mouthful of noodles.

"It will get better. You'll see." Kakashi promised.

"And if it doesn't, I will still kill you."

"Ahahaha!" Kakashi laughed nervously again.

Thanks to Teuchi, Kakashi and Sakura had no difficulty leaving Ichiraku's. Once they were out on the street, however, it was a different matter.

"So are there any actual plans to get married?" "When's the wedding date?" "When did you two realize that you actually had feelings for each other?"

Kakashi and Sakura kept their mouths shut and tried to walk away as fast as they could until Kakashi finally asked Sakura "Rooftops?"

"Rooftops." Sakura agreed, and the two of them jumped high up in the air and began jumping from rooftop to rooftop together. There were advantages to being a ninja, like making a hasty exit from overexuberant civilian fans and paparazzi.

Once Kakashi and Sakura made it to the hospital, they were dismayed to see that there was also a crowd of fans and paparazzi waiting for them there.

"If you are not a patient or a medic, I strongly advise that you leave!" Sakura shouted to the mob.

"Is it true-" someone in the crowd began to ask.

"LEAVE!" Sakura shouted again.

The crowd withered before her and slowly, regretfully began to disperse.

"I'm impressed." Kakashi said, once they were all alone again.

"Teuchi may be in charge at Ichiraku's, but I'm in charge here." Sakura said defiantly.

"Yes. Yes, you are." Kakashi said, smiling proudly at her under his mask. "I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yes, I'll see you tomorrow."

Kakashi was just about to turn around and leave when-

"And Kaka-sensei?"

"Yes, Sakura?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Teaching me to stand my ground even when I'm afraid."

"You're welcome, Sakura. You know I'd never let anyone hurt you anyway, right?"

"Yes, I know."

"Good. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

Then Kakashi jumped back up into the air jumping from rooftop to rooftop, and Sakura went back into the hospital knowing quite full well that her staff would be eagerly awaiting her return with goofy smiles on their faces.

To be continued...


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Sakura woke up groggily and turned on her side. "I don't want to get up," she grumbled.

"Then don't."

"But I need to go to work."

"Then lay down for just 5 more minutes."

"Okay," Sakura said, nuzzling into the broad chest before her. "I wish we could just stay like this all day."

"I know. I do, too." Kakashi said, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her closer to him.

Sakura's bleary eyes caught sight of his ANBU tattoo and she began lightly tracing it with her finger. Kakashi smiled beneath his mask.

"Really, Kaka-sensei. Do you have to wear your mask in bed, too?"

"I never take it off."

"Not even in the shower?"

"No, I take it off there."

"Then I guess we'll just have to take a shower together, won't we?"

"I'm completely for that suggestion, but you don't have to go through all that trouble if you just want to see me without my mask."

"Really?" Sakura asked, looking him straight in the eyes.

"Yes, really." Kakashi smiled at her, then he took one of her hands and brought it up to his cheek inviting her to pull down the fabric.

"Will I be terrified and sent off screaming by what I see?"

"I hope not!" Kakashi laughed. "Just go ahead," he urged her.

Sakura gently rubbed his masked cheek with her thumb first, then kissed him on the tip of his masked nose. "I hope you realize that I've fallen completely in love with you without even knowing what you really look like."

"I know, Sakura. It's one of the reasons why I know this is for real...Because it isn't just a girlish infatuation. It goes deeper than that. Now just take off my mask. I think you've waited long enough, don't you?"

Sakura smiled at him then-

"EH! EH! EH!" screamed her alarm.

Sakura woke up with a jolt. She pounded on her alarm to shut it off, then turned around to see the empty side of her bed.

"Oh my god!" she said, holding her head in her hands. Now she was dreaming about him!

* * *

><p>"What is going on?" Sakura asked bewildered as she walked into the hospital and saw the packed waiting room.<p>

"We don't know!" one of Sakura's medics replied. "We've had busy spells before, but nothing like this!"

As the medic ran off to take care of some urgent business, Sakura saw another medic that she did not recognize. "Excuse me, do I know you?" she asked.

"Uh, no. Sorry, I'm new here," the medic said nervously.

"Really?" Sakura said, raising an eyebrow up at him. "Because I'm head of the hospital and I'm the one who does all the hiring."

"Oh, I, um-"

Sakura was just about to call security when another one of her medics, one she actually did recognize, came running up to her. At that same moment, the "medic" she didn't recognize took the opportunity to run off.

"Hey, wait!" Sakura began, but there were so many people that the "medic" was gone in an instant amongst the crowd.

"I'm so sorry, Sakura-sama!" her real medic apologized. "I just wanted to tell you that apparently, the majority of these people are just pretending to be sick, but there was this one guy who was surprised to find out that he actually did have a slight fever."

"I don't understand," Sakura said. "Why would they-"

And then it occurred to her what she had said just the day before: _If you are not a patient or a medic, I strongly advise that you leave!_

"Unbelievable." Sakura said, shaking her head in disbelief. "This is getting out of hand!"

"What should we do?" her medic asked.

"Well for one, get security down here. If there's a medic they don't recognize, have them take that person into custody and do a thorough ID check. Second, we have no choice but to go through all these patients one by one. The last thing we need is a malpractice suit because we didn't treat someone who was waiting to be treated, but make sure they pay or their insurance pays for their visit. The pretenders may not care if they're wasting our precious time, but at the very least they can pay us for it!"

"Yes, Sakura-sama!" the medic said and ran off to do Sakura's bidding.

Sakura was pleased to see that a couple of the security guards were already accosting some obvious pretenders. The huge cameras hanging from around their necks were dead giveaways. She was going to have to do some serious screening from now on, but for now Sakura shook her head in dismay. She and her staff were going to have to go through all these people whether they wanted to or not. She just hoped that she could get through most of them before lunch. She was still meeting up with Kakashi and the last thing she needed was to have the pretenders have a heyday once she and Kakashi were finally together.

* * *

><p>Sakura wiped her brow. Kakashi was going to be here any minute and thankfully the security guards and her real medics did a good job at filtering out the pretenders. As for the pretenders who did manage to avoid getting kicked out, they were sorely disappointed to still not meet Sakura in person since her real medics ended up taking care of them instead. The only ones who got to meet Sakura were preexisting patients who were due for followups or truly sick patients that Sakura's own staff didn't know how to diagnose.<p>

When Sakura got to her office and found Kakashi leaning against her office doorway reading _Icha, Icha_, her heart began to race. How many times had he stopped by to pick her up for lunch and she never had this reaction before? Now, she realized, she had been waiting for him all day. He was the one thing that kept her going through all this insanity even if he was partially the cause of it.

"Did I come at a bad time?" Kakashi asked when he saw her walking towards him and saw her haggard appearance.

"No, not at all! Your timing couldn't have been more perfect! Just give me some time to get ready and we can go, okay?"

"Sure." Kakashi said, continuing to read _Icha, Icha_ as Sakura quickly organized files on her desk and removed her lab coat.

"Okay, I'm ready," Sakura said. "You won't believe the day I've had so far and boy do I have a story to tell you!"

As Sakura talked once they were at Ichiraku's, Kakashi caught himself staring at her mouth and taking notice of every little thing she said and did. What would she think of him, he wondered, if she ever found out that he had dreamt about her last night and in that dream, they had gone far beyond mere friendship and that he had guiltily liked it?

To be continued...


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Kakashi stood over Obito, watching helplessly as his teammate cried out in pain beneath the boulder.

"I'm giving you my Sharingan." Obito said. "Rin, use your medical ninjutsu."

Kakashi wanted to refuse. It was too much, but Rin was already starting.

And then Rin transformed into Sakura.

Kakashi's eyes widened and he stared harder.

Sakura continued to remove Obito's eye and soon she was face to face with Kakashi, implanting the Sharingan into him.

"Take care of her." Obito's voice echoed and faded into the backgound.

When Kakashi opened his eyes again, he and Rin were running away from the Mist ninjas. As they flew through the trees, Rin transformed into Sakura again.

"What?" Sakura asked, confused by the way Kakashi was looking at her.

"You just-" Kakashi began, but the enemy had caught up to them and now Sakura and Kakashi were fighting for their lives.

Kakashi lost sight of Sakura in the melee and hoped that she was doing okay when an enemy caught Kakashi's eye. Kakashi went after him, activating his Chidori. He was just about to shove his Chidori into the enemy's heart, when Sakura got between them and took the hit herself.

Kakashi watched in horror as his hand dripped with Sakura's blood and heard Sakura weakly say his name before closing her eyes forever and dropping to the ground.

Kakashi woke up with a jolt, his entire body sweating and trembling. He had gotten used to Sakura entering his dreams by now. Ever since that first night he had dreamt of her, he had continued to dream about her practically every night, but they had always been guilty pleasure dreams, dreams that he would never have the nerve to share with anyone else, dreams that made his body react in lust and desire, dreams that made him look at the real Sakura the next day in embarrassment because if she only knew what the dream version of himself had done to the dream version of herself just the night before, and the night before that, and the night before that.

Kakashi welcomed these dreams with open arms. Sometimes he even managed to guide them so that he could touch Sakura in just the right way. More importantly, they replaced the nightmares he used to have about Rin. His dreams about Sakura always left him feeling euphoric if not a little, no, a lot horny. In contrast, his dreams about Rin always left him feeling terrified and sad.

This dream was a combination of them both, Rin and Sakura turned into one, and Kakashi gripped his head with both hands, unable to handle it.

* * *

><p>Sakura walked to her office and was disappointed to see that Kakashi was not leaning against her doorway reading his book like usual. It was definitely lunch time, so where was he? Maybe he got stuck capturing a thief or some other lawbreaker while doing his rounds around town.<p>

_I'll just give him more time_, Sakura decided, closing her office door and forcing herself to work on some medical files while she waited for him.

After a while, Sakura's stomach began to growl and there was no denying it: Kakashi wasn't coming. Sakura finally gave up and went down to the cafeteria to find something to eat and then ate it alone at her desk. She had just finished eating when-

Poof!

"Hello, Sakura." Pakkun said, looking mournfully up at her.

"Pakkun! What are you doing here? Where's Kaka-sensei? Is something wrong with him?" Sakura asked, already assuming the worst.

"Calm down, Sakura. Kakashi is fine...sort of. He wanted me to tell you that he's sorry that he couldn't make it to lunch today. He said that something came up. He also said that he regrets to tell you that it would probably be better if you two stop seeing each other for a while."

Sakura's eyes widened. "But why? What happened?"

"Remember how I told you a while back that Kakashi has been through a lot and has a tendency to push those that get too close to him away?"

"Yes. So what you're telling me is that he's getting too close to me, so he's pushing me away." Sakura concluded.

Pakkun nodded. "But do you also remember what I told you to do when he inevitably does?"

"You told me to stay with him anyway."

"Exactly. So will you, Sakura...stay with him anyway?"

"Where is he right now?"

"At the cemetery."

"Thank you, Pakkun. I'll go there right now." Sakura said, removing her lab coat and hanging it up behind the door.

"Just remember, Sakura, no matter what he says-"

"Don't worry, Pakkun." Sakura smiled at him. "I would never leave him."

"I'm glad to hear it, Sakura." Pakkun smiled back, and then Sakura was gone.

* * *

><p>Sakura found Kakashi hunched over Rin's gravestone, his hands shoved in his pockets. She quietly walked up to him, then stopped once she was standing right next to him.<p>

"Did you take a half day off from work for me?" Kakashi asked, not looking at her.

"It's fine. My staff can handle it."

"Did Pakkun send you?"

"Not really. I came here on my own."

"Did he tell you that I think we need to stop seeing each other?"

"He did, but he didn't say why. Is it because of the media? Because if it is, you said yourself that we really shouldn't let them get to us."

"It's not the media."

"Then what is it?"

Kakashi finally raised up his head and looked her straight in the eyes. "Have you ever seen photos of Rin, Sakura?"

"No, I haven't. Why do you ask?"

"Because you'd be surprised to know that you look a lot like her. The same big eyes, the same heart shaped face, the same short hair. She was even a medical ninja, just like you. If only your hair was brown instead of pink, and your eyes were brown instead of green, you could be her."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. I think it's why I'm so protective of you, because you are her and she is you."

"Kaka-sensei-" Sakura began, shaking her head.

"And that's why we have to stop seeing each other, Sakura. It hurts too much and it's too confusing. I can't tell if the feelings I have for you are because of you or because of her."

"Wait...You have feelings for me?" Sakura asked surprised.

"You never noticed?"

"Sure you've always been protective of me, but I just thought it was because it was your job and because you thought I was weak."

Kakashi laughed. "You're not weak, Sakura. You're the complete opposite of weak."

"But I know you. You're protective of your friends and teammates regardless of who they are."

"Yes, but you have a special place in my heart, Sakura. Out of everyone, you are the one I want to protect the most."

"Because of her."

"Maybe. I don't even know anymore." Kakashi said, covering his face with his hands.

"So what? You don't want to see me anymore because you're afraid you'll hurt me the same way you hurt her? Kaka-sensei, it wasn't even your fault! When are you ever going to come to terms with that?"

"I already have."

"Are you sure? Because I don't so."

"It's not just Rin. It's Obito, and Minato-sensei, and my father, and anyone else I've ever gotten close to. I don't want you to die because of me, Sakura."

"So you think that I'll die just because I'm close to you?" Sakura laughed incredulously.

"I'm not superstitious, but you have to admit, that's quite a track record for one person."

"And what about Naruto, and Sai, and Yamato, and Guy-sensei, and all those other people you're close to who haven't died yet? It's not you, Kaka-sensei, it's the job. We all became ninjas knowing full well that we're putting our lives on the line. If you think pushing me away is some kind of mercy, then think again. I know this may sound silly, but I just ate lunch alone at my desk because you didn't show up today. What kind of mercy was that? I was lonely and worried about you and I didn't feel mercifully saved from your presence at all. You want to protect people, sensei? Then you show up for them, you don't abandon them!"

Kakashi laughed, shaking his head. "Sakura, if you only knew..." he said, letting his words hang in the air.

"What? What don't I know?'

"I already have a reputation for being a perv with my choice of reading material. If you stick with me, Sakura, you're going to be swept up in a scandal you may not particularly want to be a part of."

"And how is that any different from what we've been enduring for the past few months already?"

"Don't you see, Sakura? It's not innocent anymore. I don't _see_ you innocently anymore. When I see you now I want to be with you, and I don't mean just having a friendly lunch and conversation at Ichiraku's. I _want_ you, and that changes everything."

"You want me." Sakura repeated breathlessly.

"Yes, and I'm sorry if that creeps you out. I know you never intended for any of this to happen, but you're you and you can't expect to hang out with an older, single guy like me everyday and not expect me to start having feelings for you."

"You want me." Sakura repeated and then started softly laughing.

"What?" Kakashi asked wide eyed, feeling a little hurt. He had just put his heart on the line, after all, and she was laughing at him.

"Oh, Kaka-sensei! Do you really think that this has all been one way? I know you never intended for any of this to happen either, but you're you, and you're tall, and handsome, and kind, and sweet, and so easy to talk to and be around with. Do you really think that I could be around you everyday and not start seeing you differently also?"

"Well, honestly, no. I just figured that I wasn't your type. Sasuke is your type, not me."

"Sasuke isn't here. Sasuke tried to murder me more than once. Sasuke told me to my face that I'm nothing to him and he treats me like nothing, too. But you? You're here. You've saved my life more than once, and you've just told me to my face that I mean everything to you and you treat me like everything, too. Sasuke was a girlish infatuation that was destined to become an abusive one sided relationship if it every had a chance of becoming one. You, however, are this amazing guy that I've basically been dating everyday for months, years if you count all the time that we've known each other. I'm not a little girl anymore, sensei, and you're not my teacher anymore. I'm a grown woman who knows exactly what she's doing and I don't make my decisions lightly." Then she closed the distance between them and hugged him around his waist, resting her cheek against his chest.

Kakashi hesitantly wrapped his own arms around her, then tightly hugged her back.

After a while, they parted just enough so that Kakashi could hold Sakura's face in both of his hands. "Are you really sure you want to do this?"

Sakura mimicked his gesture, raising her hands up to cradle his face in both of her hands. "Let's put it his way, Kaka-sensei...I would bet my life that there are paparazzi in the surrounding areas right now going crazy because we're in each other's arms like this and I couldn't give a damn. All I care about is you and me."

Kakashi laughed and rested his forehead against hers. "Naruto is going to kill us. He wrote that statement and everything."

"Well I guess he'll just have to write a retraction, won't he?"

They pulled away again just far enough to look right into each other's eyes. They smiled at each other then both tilted their heads and went in for a kiss at the same time.

In the far distance, they could hear camera flashbulbs going crazy, but Kakashi and Sakura didn't care. What was happening now was surreal, and wonderful, and exhilarating, and what was even better was that neither of them were jolting awake because of some alarm clock, because this time, it was all for real.

To be continued...

* * *

><p>Author's note:<p>

Hi everyone,

First of all, thank you to each and every one of you who have taken the time to read this story and a special thanks to those of you who have even left me kind reviews, some of you regularly (Poppy Grave Dreams, gacktxx, Illuminated, SilverIcy, and fanofthisfiction). Writing fanfiction can feel like writing into a void sometimes, and it's mainly through your feedback and faves that I know that I'm not writing just for myself. I mean, I do write this story for myself since it's everything I wish would happen in the manga and anime, but you guys are what keep me going. I could easily just keep all these fantasies in my head, but your support and encouragement prevents me from doing that.

Anyway, I wanted you to know that I'm not finished with this story yet. I don't really know where I'm going from here, but I do know that I don't want to release Kakashi and Sakura just yet. However, I am leaving the country to go on vacation very soon, so this seems like a proper stopping point until I come back. It's a cliffhanger of sorts.

This also means that I will miss how the manga series will end until I get back, so I have no idea how that will affect my story. For example, I wrote that Sasuke is evil and away from the village doing evil things, but Kishimoto seems to be strongly leaning towards redeeming Sasuke. Whatever happens when I come back, I will try to work it into my story somehow.

So in a nutshell: Thank you, I'm not done yet, I'm just going on vacation, I'm going to miss how the manga series ends because I'm on vacation, I'll figure it out when I get back.

Until then, arrivederci and grazie, everyone!


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Kakashi and Sakura parted, both feeling a little dazed.

"That was nice." Sakura said, smiling up at Kakashi.

"Yes, it was." Kakashi agreed, returning her smile.

"So we're actually going to do this."

"Yes, it looks like we're actually going to do this."

"So how do we do this? What happens now?" Sakura asked, starting to feel some of the weight of their decision.

"Well, since I missed lunch today, it seems that I owe you a meal, so how about I take you out to dinner and a movie tonight?"

"Dinner and a movie. That sounds like an actual date."

"That's because it is an actual date."

"I can't believe we're doing this. I never thought in a million years that I would find myself planning to go out on a date with my former sensei!"

"Are you starting to have second thoughts?"

Sakura saw the worried look in Kakashi's eyes and in response, she shook her head, wrapped her arms around his waist, and rested her head against his chest. Kakashi wrapped his arms around her in return.

"I think," Sakura began, "That the idea of it is going to take some getting use to, but when we're together like this, I feel like I'm right where I'm supposed to be."

Kakashi let out a breath of relief and rested his cheek on the top of Sakura's head. "I feel the same way," he agreed softly.

They held each other close, enjoying each other's warmth and weight against each other and pretended not to hear all the cameras clicking away in the not too far distance.

After a while, Sakura began to slowly and reluctantly pull away from Kakashi.

"I should probably go back to the hospital," she said. "I need to get as much work done as I can because apparently, I have a date tonight," she smiled widely at him.

"Yes, yes you do." Kakashi laughed. "I'll see you tonight, Sakura."

"See you tonight, Kaka-sensei." Sakura smiled back at him, then she stood up on tiptoe to give him one last quick goodbye kiss, mostly because it felt right and because she wanted to, but also to show the paparazzi that from this point on, she was too happy to give a damn what they or anyone else thought anymore.

* * *

><p>Back at the hospital, Sakura found herself unable to stop smiling.<p>

"What are you so happy about?" her staff asked.

"Nothing." Sakura replied, still grinning incessantly.

Once Sakura left the room, she heard them whisper "What do you want to bet it has something to do with Kakashi-sama?"

_Is it that obvious?_ Sakura wondered, but even her staff's gossiping couldn't wipe the smile away from her face, which actually worked to her benefit while meeting with patients. When it came to paperwork, however, it was a different matter. She had difficulty focusing because her mind kept wandering back to Kakashi and their kisses and their date later that night.

When her shift finally ended, Sakura went straight home, showered, then went through her closet to try to figure out what to wear.

_Ino's right,_ Sakura realized, _most of my clothes_ are _red._

_But this is different,_ Sakura reasoned as she pulled out and slipped on the red dress she had bought with Ino a while back.

Sakura smiled at herself in the mirror. _Who cares if I wear red all the time?_ Sakura thought, _I look good in red, I'm comfortable in it, and this particular dress makes me look hot!_

And then Sakura realized that this was at least her third time today not giving a damn what other people thought.

_Maybe being in this relationship is going to make me braver,_ Sakura thought, _because I'm feeling braver already!_

* * *

><p>There was a light knocking on Sakura's apartment door and it wasn't lost on her how this all began with Kakashi lightly knocking on her office door one day, offering to take her out to lunch.<p>

Sakura took a deep breath and opened the door, then she lost her breath again.

In all the years that she had known Kakashi, he was usually dressed in his jonin uniform. The tux at Ino's wedding and everyone else's wedding was the exception. Tonight, however, Kakashi actually went through the trouble to dress up.

Sakura had seen Kakashi in his black, sleeveless, masked shirt before, but not paired with a sleek black blazer. It was a simple small addition, but it made him look dressed up and handsome. He had also removed his forehead protector, allowing his hair to fall sexily over his eyes. He was breathtaking, hence the reason why Sakura lost her breath at the sight of him.

Kakashi's own eyes roamed over Sakura's outfit. It was a long skirted sheath dress that made her look taller than she actually was and hugged every curve of her body.

"Wow, Kaka-sensei! You look great!"

"Wow, Sakura! You look great!"

Kakashi and Sakura said to each other at the same time, which made them laugh at the same time. Then-

"Thank you!" they both said at the same time again, which made them laugh again.

"You ready to go?" Kakashi asked after their laughter had died down a bit.

"Yes, let's go." Sakura smiled at him, quickly grabbing a black cardigan sweater to wear later in the evening before stepping out and locking her door.

Kakashi offered his arm and Sakura gratefully took it, using it as an excuse to walk extra close to him.

"So where are we going?" Sakura asked.

"It's a surprise." Kakashi said, smiling down at her.

"I hope it's not too far. I'm actually wearing heels for a change."

"No, it's not far, but if your feet start to hurt, I don't mind carrying you."

Sakura felt her face heat up in embarrassment. "That isn't necessary!"

"It's not a problem, Sakura. I've carried you before." Kakashi smiled good naturedly down at her.

It was true, though. How many times had he carried her in his arms before while saving her life?

"You're sweet, but hopefully it doesn't come to that!" Sakura laughed.

"I really don't mind carrying you." Kakashi insisted, but allowed Sakura to keep step next to him because it's what she wanted, but he wouldn't hesitate to sweep her off her feet the instant she allowed him to.

After walking contentedly next to each other for a while, Sakura looked around her and mused "It's such a beautiful evening!"

"Yes it is." Kakashi agreed.

Because Konoha during the day is nice enough, but in the evening it's even more lovely. The air cools down, a gentle breeze makes all the leaves in the trees dance, and the village lights add to the already soft glow of the setting sun.

_And the company isn't bad either,_ both Kakashi and Sakura silently thought to themselves.

After a few blocks, Kakashi finally stopped at a building. "This is it," he announced with a smile.

Sakura recognized the building and her eyes grew wide. "I've actually been wanting to come here for a while, but never had a reason to go all by myself!"

"I thought it might be something you'd like."

"It is!"

"Well, I'm glad that I made the right choice then. Are you ready to go in?"

"Absolutely!" Sakura said eagerly.

Kakashi smiled at Sakura's enthusiasm and led the way in.

As they walked in, the first thing that came to Sakura's mind was, _This is no ramen lunch counter at Ichiraku's!_

Small round tables covered with crisp white cloth were topped with white china plates, silverware, and long stemmed glassware that glimmered in the flickering candlelight. In a corner, a live band played soft music. No, this was no fast food restaurant. This was the real deal.

"Hi, I have a reservation for Hatake Kakashi," Kakashi said to the maitre d.

"Of course! We've been expecting you!" the maitre d smiled at Kakashi and Sakura. "If you follow our waitress, she'll show you to your seats."

"Thank you," Kakashi and Sakura said to the maitre d and followed their waitress who led them to a table that sat right next to the floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the village and had a perfect view of the now lit up Hokage Monument.

Kakashi pulled out Sakura's chair and helped her scoot in before taking his own seat.

"Thank you," Sakura said smiling, impressed by such a gentlemanly gesture.

"You're welcome," Kakashi replied.

The waitress handed them their menus and left to give them some time to figure out what they wanted to eat.

"Wow," Sakura said. "I don't think I've ever been anywhere this fancy before, not counting wedding receptions that is!"

"Really?" Kakashi asked.

"No, I don't really go out much if you haven't noticed."

"Not even with Ino?"

"Not even with Ino. When we hang out, it's way more casual than this!"

"What about special occasions, like birthdays?"

"Then we just have a party at her place or mine. You know, you've been to some of them before."

"Yes, but I thought that maybe you also did something where it was just the two of you."

"No, not really."

"What about on dates?"

Sakura laughed. "You know me! I don't have time to date!"

"Really?" Kakashi smiled knowingly at her.

Sakura felt her face heat up. "Well, I know that we're on a date _now_. I just mean that there hasn't been time for me to date other guys and there haven't really been any other guys that I've been interested in anyway."

"Really." Kakashi stated more than asked, a pleased look taking over his face.

Sakura felt her face heat up even more, realizing that she had just inadvertently told Kakashi "I don't date other guys because I'm not interested in any of them, but for you, I have made an exception."

Sakura averted her eyes from the smug look on Kakashi's face, but as she looked out the oversized window next to their table, she found herself looking at an only larger version of Kakashi's face carved into the Hokage Monument.

Sakura made a face.

"What?" Kakashi asked, his eyes wide.

"You do realize that your face is now forever carved in stone with a mask on it."

"But I always wear my mask. How else were they supposed to carve it?"

"I don't know? Without your mask on? You gotta admit that it's kind of silly that for all eternity no one will ever know what you really look like underneath that mask."

"I think that at this point it would confuse people more to see me without it. I bet if I took it off now, most people wouldn't even recognize me."

"So take it off and we'll test that theory." Sakura said with a smirk.

"Nice try." Kakashi replied, raising an eyebrow up at her through his bangs.

Sakura wasn't sure if he had or hadn't intentionally meant to look sexy while doing it, but the look he shot her made Sakura smile and roll her eyes and avert her eyes away from him again.

Kakashi noticed the effect that one look had over her, and again, he felt smug. He'd have to remember that look he just made and use it in his arsenal the next time he really, really wanted to seduce her.

Sakura felt the heat of Kakashi's gaze on her, so she looked out the window again. This time she focused on Naruto's huge carved face because even Kakashi's stone image was too much right now. As Sakura focused on Naruto's stone face, a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

"What?" Kakashi asked, seeing her smile.

"I was just thinking about how fitting it is to see Naruto up there with his dad."

"It is." Kakashi agreed, following her gaze and smiling himself.

"You know, it was really a wonderful thing that you did, handing over the title of Hokage to Naruto." Sakura said, turning back to Kakashi.

"He deserved it and I couldn't think of anyone better suited for the job." Kakashi shrugged.

"You were a great Hokage too, you know? I know that everyone makes a big fuss about how Naruto is Konoha's youngest Hokage ever, but when you were in charge, things were pretty great, too. You've always been a born leader and I know that I, for one, would follow you anywhere." Sakura said smiling at him, and to Kakashi's surprise, Sakura reached her hand out across the table and gentle squeezed his hand. He smiled back and gently squeezed her hand in return.

A couple of minutes later, their waitress returned, asking if they were ready to order.

Kakashi and Sakura both embarrassingly realized that neither one of them had even glanced at their menus yet.

"It's okay," their waitress said kindly. "Take your time. I'll come back."

"Thank you." Kakashi and Sakura replied, then decided to stop making googly eyes at each other long enough to figure out what they wanted to eat.

* * *

><p>Sakura wasn't really a foodie, but the food at this restaurant could quite possibly turn her into one. It wasn't just that the food tasted good, it was also the presentation. One by one the dishes were brought out as they finished each course, and each course looked like an art piece with the food creating fancy designs on the plate. Plus, unlike some other high class, outrageously expensive restaurants, this restaurant didn't skimp on the portions. Kakashi and Sakura ate well, so much so that by the time they got to the dessert, they were both on the verge of a food coma.<p>

"So full..." Sakura said, her elbows resting on the table and her hands cupped around her eyes. It looked like she was in a staring contest with her partly nibbled dessert and her dessert was winning.

"Me too." Kakashi said, slumped back in his chair. He had loosened his belt and his six pack actually disappeared for a temporary beer gut, except that it wasn't beer that was making his stomach bulge, it was too much good food.

When their waitress came back around to give Kakashi the check, she all but laughed at them. "I take it that you enjoyed your meal?" she asked with a smile.

"Yes, we did!"

"So good!"

Kakashi and Sakura said simultaneously.

"Well then I hope to see you both again soon," said the waitress.

"Don't worry, you will." Kakashi promised.

"Glad to hear that! I'll see you guys next time!" she smiled and waved goodbye to both of them, and Kakashi and Sakura smiled and waved back.

"So we're coming back here again?" Sakura asked, smiling.

"Of course. I like it here and I think it's time that we started adding new places to our list of places, don't you? I mean, Ichiraku's is great for a quick bite, but this place can be where we go for a fancy meal. Besides, it's already special because it's where we just had our first date."

"Wow, you've really thought this all through, haven't you?" Sakura asked, looking at Kakashi amused.

"I've had a lot of time to think about it." Kakashi said, looking sheepish.

"Just how long have you been waiting to ask me out on a date?" Sakura asked surprised.

"Long enough to wonder where our first date would be and what restaurants to put on our list of places," Kakashi replied.

Sakura shook her head in disbelief, and completely disregarding the convention of kissing at the end of the date, she stood up, reached across the table to grab Kakashi by the lapels of his blazer, and kissed him.

Kakashi's eyes widened in surprise, then he closed his eyes and simply enjoyed the pressure of Sakura's lips pressed against his.

It was a long while before Sakura finally let him go, and even then it was because she and Kakashi needed to come up for air, and because the table edge was jamming painfully into Sakura's upper thighs after having thrown herself across the table to kiss Kakashi. Otherwise, if there hadn't been a table between them, and if the other patrons in the restaurant hadn't started staring at them, and if Kakashi and Sakura had gills to breathe through like Kisame, they would have quite happily kept kissing for hours, but since none of that was the case, they both parted lips only to come together again as they joined hands as they left the restaurant.

"So where to now?" Sakura asked, pressing her body against Kakashi's arm as they walked. It was darker and colder outside now and even with her cardigan on, she still needed to huddle against Kakashi for warmth. Besides, it was a great excuse to get closer to him.

Noticing Sakura shivering next to him, Kakashi wrapped an arm around her and pulled her tight against him.

"Well, I did promise you dinner and a movie, so now we go to the movie theater."

"Okay." Sakura said smiling, wrapping her arm around Kakashi's waist beneath his blazer and taking in his warmth.

And that was how they walked the entire way to the theater, with both of them half embracing each other.

* * *

><p>"So what do you want to watch?" Sakura asked, her head tilted up as she read the movie theater's marquee.<p>

"Well, I was thinking that one," Kakashi said, pointing his finger at a title. "It's really popular right now and I think that you'll like it. It has a strong female character who shoots a bow and arrow and goes up against a corrupt society."

"Sounds good to me," Sakura said with a shrug, and Kakashi went ahead and bought two tickets.

As they entered the theater, Kakashi and Sakura couldn't help but stiffen. It was one thing to have a lovely dinner at a restaurant where no one else they knew was around, but it was another thing to walk into a movie theater in which practically everyone they knew seemed to be.

Kakashi waited for Sakura to pull her hand away from his, and Sakura waited for Kakashi to pull his hand away from hers, but to both their surprise, neither one of them was willing to let the other one go. Even as their friends turned around one by one in their seats to look at them, Kakashi and Sakura only squeezed each other's hand in reassurance as they bravely walked down the aisle hand in hand. They paid no attention to the smiles, the murmurs, and the elbow jabbing. They just found two empty seats that were next to each other and took them, and once they were both seated, Kakashi purposely laid his arm across the back of Sakura's seat, and Sakura purposely leaned into his side.

The smiles grew wider, the murmurs got louder, and the elbow jabbing increased, but this was Kakashi and Sakura's first date, and seeing how it had been a lovely one so far, neither one of them was going to allow anything or anyone ruin the rest of it.

As the movie theater darkened, Kakashi and Sakura watched intently as a girl with dark hair in a side braid drew her bow and arrow and stated both through words and actions that she didn't give a damn what society thought. She was going to do what she knew in her heart was right, and Kakashi and Sakura completely understood where she was coming from because at that moment, in that movie theater, they were doing the exact same thing.

* * *

><p>When the movie ended, Kakashi and Sakura stood up with Kakashi automatically offering his hand out to Sakura who automatically took it. Again, they could feel the heat of everyone's stares and hear them talking about them, but Kakashi and Sakura played blind and deaf to all of it. Once they were out in the refreshingly cool air outside, they released each other's hands only to trade it for the same half embrace they had given each other while walking to the theater.<p>

"It's official. They all know now," Sakura said softly, leaning into Kakashi as they walked.

"Yes, they do." Kakashi replied softly back, kissing Sakura on the top of her head.

They walked the rest of the way home in silence, knowing that this would most likely be their last piece of peace and quiet before word got out. This wasn't just tabloid rumors anymore. They had just made it official to everyone that they were dating each other for real.

Once they made it to Sakura's door, both of them felt their hearts drop a little. Neither one of them wanted to part ways even though they knew that they'd see each other again the next day anyway.

"Thank you, Kaka-sensei. I had a really good time." Sakura said, reluctantly pulling away from him.

"Me too." Kakashi smiled at her. "Goodnight, Sakura," he said, cupping her head in his hands and kissing her on the forehead.

When he pulled away, Sakura looked up at him incredulously.

"That's seriously not your goodbye kiss, is it?" she asked.

"I was trying to be respectful to you and take it slow," Kakashi laughed.

"I don't mind taking it slow, Kaka-sensei, but not _that_ slow!" Sakura said, then she grabbed him by the lapels of his blazer and crashed her lips into his.

It was all so sudden that Kakashi had to brace his hands against Sakura's door to keep from falling completely forward, but as a result, he found himself caging her between his arms and body.

Again, it was only from lack of air that the two of them finally parted.

When Kakashi looked at Sakura, he could see that her lips were swollen from all their kissing and her eyes were wide with desire. It was all he could do to keep himself from taking her right there, but he pushed away from her door and from her and quickly pecked Sakura on her swollen lips instead.

"Goodnight, Sakura. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay. Goodnight, Kaka-sensei, and thanks again for tonight."

"You're welcome," Kakashi smiled back at her and waved goodbye over his shoulder before jumping up onto the rooftops headed for his own home.

Sakura watched him until she couldn't see him anymore before finally closing her door behind her.

That night, when both of them finally went to bed, they both couldn't stop smiling up at the ceiling. It was okay if they dreamt about each other tonight and dreamt about doing unspeakable things to each other because Kakashi and Sakura were officially dating now and they were allowed to dream about each other in that way. If anything, those dreams only gave them ideas that they could turn into realities later down the line.

To be continued...


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note:**

So I've decided that I absolutely hate the way the _Naruto_ manga series ended, so I'm writing my own ending.

I was set on giving up because I was so heartbroken. In my mind I was thinking "Well, that's it. Kishimoto had the last word."

But then you guys came along and basically said "Screw canon! This is fanfic! You can do whatever the hell you want!"

Which made me think, you know what? You guys are right. I've been looking at this entirely the wrong way. I felt boxed in and closed off by what Kishimoto wrote, but that's what fanfics are for...To go where the original source has not or will not.

That being said, thank you to those of you who talked some sense into me (Tarani Bosatsu, fanofthisfiction, kt96, and Toreh). Without you, I would have continued feeling miserable because KakaSaku is such a big part of me (They're alive in my head, I know them, and I love them) and without them, I feel a big void inside of me that kills me inside, but now that I'm continuing on with this story, they're alive again and so am I. So again, thank you to all of you, both readers and reviewers alike. I've always said that you guys are the ones who keep me going, and now more than ever you've proven that.

So if you go back to the previous chapter, Chapter 15, you'll see that I filled in the gaps and made a bunch of additions. I also took stuff out only to use them for this chapter instead. And this time, I plan to finish this thing because:

1) I like to finish what I start.

2) For you guys who wouldn't give up on this story even though I already had, and

3) To say "To hell with your ending, Kishimoto! You may not have a problem marrying Sakura off to someone who tried to _murder_ her multiple times, but I do! So here's MY ending where Sakura's paired off with someone who actually protects her, cares for her, and treats her right!"

**Chapter 16**

**KONOHA ENQUIRER**

**KAKASAKU IS OFFICIAL!**

**Photos and Full Coverage Inside!**

_Tabloids are infamous for twisting the truth or just getting it plain wrong. As a tabloid writer, I know that I'm putting my neck on the line by saying this even if it is the truth. However, recent developments also go to show that sometimes tabloids get it right. Sometimes, we simply see what others do not._

_Last night, several witnesses confirmed seeing Hatake Kakashi and Haruno Sakura on a date together to the movies. The couple were seen holding hands (see photos on this page) and even snuggled against each other in the darkened movie theater (see photos on page 3)._

_"I used to tease her about having a thing for him, but I never thought that the two of them would actually get together!" stated Akimichi Ino, Sakura's best friend, who recently returned from her honeymoon in the Land of Waves (see story on page 9)._

_"I don't know what the hell is going on, dattebayo!" was Hokage Uzumaki Naruto's statement when asked about the official statement he had recently made denouncing any romantic ties between his former teammates. "Let me talk to those damned two and I'll figure it out!" were his final words before kicking us out of his office._

_"I-I think it's sweet," was Uzumaki Hintata's statement, the wife of our aforementioned, quick tempered Hokage._

_Reactions throughout the village have been mixed. Some people hate it. Some people love it. Some people never saw it coming. Some people knew that it was just a matter of time._

_Whatever your opinion about KakaSaku may be, there's no way around it...These two are in love and-_

"...Their relationship is here to stay." Sakura finished reading out loud.

Kakashi couldn't help but smile at that.

"What are you smiling about?" Sakura asked. "You just know that we won't be able to go anywhere now without people hunting us down like animals!"

Kakashi still kept smiling. "Yes, but now we're free."

Sakura looked at him like he was crazy. "Didn't you hear what I just said?"

"'Hunt us down like animals.' I heard you."

"Then what in the world makes you think that we're free now?"

"Because we don't have to hide our feelings anymore, not from them and not from ourselves. If they want to see public displays of affection, then that's what we'll give them."

_"Excuse me?"_

"Think about it. The main reason they would want to hunt us down in the first place is if we're trying to hide something, but we're not trying to hide anything anymore, so why not just give them what they want? In fact, give them so much of it that the tabloids get so saturated with our PDAs that sooner or later they just get sick of us all together and move on."

"_That's_ your plan? And what if they get sick of us later rather than sooner?"

"I have absolutely no problems kissing you an infinite number of times just to get our point across." Kakashi said solemnly.

"Oh, I bet you don't!" Sakura said. She was trying to sound angry, but a little bit of laughter crept into her voice.

Kakashi heard it and he turned to look at her amused. "In fact," he began, "I don't mind getting our point across now," he said, positioning himself in front of her.

"But there's no one here to witness it!" Sakura protested as Kakashi leaned forward into her. She tried to playfully pull away from him, but it only pushed her back further onto the desk she was sitting on.

"Maybe that's a good thing." Kakashi shrugged before kissing her.

Sakura gave into him, grabbing him by the back of the neck and pulling him even closer to her.

Kakashi braced his hands against her desk to keep from completely falling into her and then finally just gave up.

Sakura was laying practically flat on her back on her desk with Kakashi on top of her when there was a light knocking on her door, and before Kakashi and Sakura could pull away from each other, one of Sakura's medics poked her head in.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry!" the medic apologized before quickly closing the door again.

Kakashi and Sakura looked wide eyed at the spot where the medic had just been.

"Oh god!" Sakura said doing a facepalm.

"Well, think of it this way. We're now one witness closer to getting everyone sick of our PDAs." Kakashi said.

Sakura buried her face in both of her hands and groaned.

* * *

><p>Sakura straightened her clothes and steeled herself before opening up her office door. Once she stepped outside, her staff looked back at her and Kakashi with wide grins on their faces before quickly pretending to go back to work.<p>

Sakura rolled her eyes, wanting to crawl into bed and hide underneath her blankets.

Kakashi, however, had a different idea. He took that opportunity to slip his hand into Sakura's and give it a reassuring squeeze.

Sakura turned her head to look up at him, only to see him smiling softly at her, which made her smile back.

"So we're going out to lunch. I'll be back in an hour, okay?" Sakura said regaining some courage, and to her pleasure, her voice didn't even quaver.

"Have a good lunch, Sakura-sama and Kakashi-sama!" the medics replied.

And the two of them left the hospital hand in hand. It didn't matter that they could hear the loud eruption of the medics gossiping about them the second the hospital door swung closed behind them because now they had an entire village to face ahead of them.

* * *

><p>For a split second, Kakashi and Sakura thought that they had walked into a lightning storm. Camera flash after camera flash went off, and Kakashi and Sakura understood why some celebrities chose to wear sunglasses even at night. It wasn't just a fashion statement, it was practical.<p>

"Just give them what they want." Kakashi murmured into Sakura's ear, and before she knew what was happening, Kakashi had pulled her into a dip and kissed her hard on the lips.

The lightning storm of camera flashes went berserk.

"Now if you don't mind," Kakashi said after pulling a dazed Sakura back up on her feet, "We're off to lunch," and as they had done so before they were "officially together," Kakashi and Sakura took to the rooftops. Unfortunately, however, some paparazzi were on to them and had already dared to climb up on the rooftops themselves just to get a good shot of them together.

Sakura grimaced at the scene, but Kakashi swept her off her feet again, carrying her in his arms as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop towards Ichiraku's.

"Kaka-sensei, what are you-"

And right when they were mid-air above a rooftop that was particularly crowded with paparazzi, Kakashi kissed her again.

Lightning storm.

And then Kakashi made a perfect landing on the ground while still kissing Sakura in his arms.

The paparazzi were going nuts!

Kakashi gently placed Sakura back on her own two feet, only to grab her hand as he lead them both into Ichiraku's, which unsurprisingly, had it's own lightning storm of camera flashes going off.

Sakura made a mental note to buy a pair of sunglasses and wear them from now on.

As they made their way to the counter, they could already see Teuchi's smiling face. "Good morning, Kakashi-sama and Sakura-sama. I hear that congratulations are in order!"

"What for?" Sakura asked confused.

"Why, because you two are officially together now!"

"It's really not that big of a deal." Sakura said, looking embarrassed.

"Oh, but it is! I've seen you two come in here everyday and I've seen how you are with each other. It's just nice that you finally see what the rest of us saw. It's nice that you're finally together."

Kakashi and Sakura turned to each other and smiled shyly at each other.

"Well, thank you, Teuchi-san. We really appreciate it." Kakashi said.

"Of course! And as a congratulation gift, here's two ramens on the house."

"You really don't have to do that!" Sakura said.

"But I insist!" Teuchi said, pushing the two bowls of ramen even closer to them.

"Thanks again, Teuchi-san." Sakura said.

"You're welcome! Anything for two of my best customers!"

So even though the lightning storm of camera flashes and the rumble of gossiping continued all around them, Kakashi and Sakura still ate contentedly in their own little bubble. Their long time friendship with Teuchi made them feel at home. Familiar, hot steaming bowls of comfort food made them feel at home. And most importantly, as long as Kakashi and Sakura were in each other's company, they were at home regardless if the world around them had gone mad.

* * *

><p>Sakura was getting some much needed rest at home after an exhausting day at the hospital when she heard banging on her door. Sakura got up off the sofa and looked through the peephole of her door. She felt her heart drop. She knew it was just a matter of time, but there was no way around it, so Sakura reluctantly opened up her door.<p>

Ino immediately barged in. "Oh my god, Sakura! What is going on? Have you seen all this?" she asked hysterically as she waved a handful of tabloids in Sakura's face.

"Yes, I've seen them."

Ino shot her a look. "So what the hell? First you two were in denial about ever being together, then I come back from my honeymoon and you two are all over each other all over the place! What happened? What changed?"

"Well we tried staying away from each other because of all the media, but then we realized just how much we hate being apart from one another and it all kind of snowballed from there."

"Oh, I see. 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder' and all that good stuff."

"Yes, something like that."

"And now you're flaunting the fact that you're together."

"It was all Kaka-sensei's plan."

"To what? Impregnate you in public so that there's no denying that he's the father? Because at the rate you two are going, that's where you're headed!"

Sakura felt her face heat up in embarrassment. "No, of course not! At least I don't think so..."

Ino's eyes grew wide.

"No! NO! Of course not! It's just that the paparrazzi are going to harass us no matter what, so Kaka-sensei figured that if we overload them with PDA, that eventually they'll get so sick of us and move on to something else."

"Sakura, it's you and Kaka-sensei. YOU AND KAKA-SENSEI! What in the world makes you think that anyone is going to give up on that juicy bit of gossip any time soon?"

"Well, we're just trying to accelerate the process." Sakura said sheepishly.

"Or Kaka-sensei is just using this an excuse to kiss you all over the village with your full consent. I mean, seriously, do you even know anymore how many times have you two have kissed?"

"I've actually kind of lost count." Sakura admitted, still dazed from so much kissing. "But so what? He's allowed to kiss me. We are dating, after all."

At this, Ino's eyes lit up in amusement. "Oh my god! You're totally into him, aren't you?"

Sakura said nothing and just continued to look embarrassed.

"You are!" Ino said gleefully, pouncing on her best friend and giving her a huge hug.

Sakura laughed and hugged her back.

"So what is it like kissing the hottest eligible bachelor in the entire ninja nation?"

"It's really nice." Sakura said simply, smiling.

"Oh come on, Sakura! You can do better than that! I need details!"

"What do you want me to say, Ino?" Sakura laughed. "I enjoy kissing him and he apparently enjoys kissing me. There's not much more to it."

"Oh, but there is!" Ino said eagerly. "Like you have to tell me what he looks like underneath his mask!"

Sakura made a face.

Ino made a face in return. "What, Sakura? What are you not telling me?"

"Well, I can't tell you what he looks like underneath his mask because I don't know." Sakura admitted.

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"I mean, we've kissed, but he always had his mask on."

"You've kissed, but he always had his mask on?" Ino asked incredulously. "Sakura, that doesn't count!"

"And why not?"

"Because you weren't kissing him, you were kissing cloth!"

"It was still his lips pressed against mine."

"With a barrier."

"Well...yeah."

"Then it doesn't count! Until you get that retched mask off his face and press your lips against his bare lips, you get no points!"

"The media doesn't seem to think so. They're all over this."

"I can see that!"

"What does it matter if he kisses me with or without a mask on? It's still kissing."

"Oh, but it's not!" Ino said seriously. "Sakura, kissing is all about nerve endings meeting nerve endings, flesh meeting flesh, heat meeting heat. If you guys are kissing with a piece of cloth between you, it's not the same thing. When and if you ever kiss him without a mask, it could completely change the state of the kiss. For all you know, the chemistry might disappear, or it might be the complete opposite, it might only heat things up even more. Either way, you need to find out. You need to kiss him without his mask on, Sakura, or you'll forever be left wondering."

* * *

><p>Later that night, Sakura laid awake in her bed staring up at the ceiling. Ino had given her a lot to think about. It never really bothered Sakura before that Kakashi kept kissing her with his mask on. After all, he always had his mask on. It was practically part of his body. Besides, it's not like he could just rip off his mask whenever he kissed her in public, but still, there were those moments when they were all alone and he could just as easily have revealed himself completely to her. The fact that he hadn't showed that there was something stilted in their relationship. He still didn't completely trust her, because if he had, that mask should have been long gone by now.<p>

So Sakura lay in bed worrying and wondering. Worrying that Kakashi might never trust himself completely with her, and worrying that Ino might be right...What if their chemistry disappeared once that barrier was gone? Or what if it changed for the better? And Sakura wondered what Kakashi looked like underneath his mask. That was nothing new, but now not only did she want to see what his face looked like, but she wanted to know what it would feel like to press her bare lips against his bare lips.

Sakura pressed her fingertips against her lips imagining it.

To be continued...


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Kakashi rested his back against a tree, reading _Icha, Icha_, the shadows of the leaves above him making mottled patterns on the open pages of his book.

Meanwhile, Sakura's head laid pillowed on his lap, an arm thrown over her eyes as she tried to nap.

Next to them on the picnic blanket that they both shared, sat an empty picnic basket, its only remains the empty containers of the lunch that they had both already consumed.

Kakashi and Sakura savored this tranquil moment together, seemingly oblivious to the constant clicking of cameras as several paparazzi took hundreds of photos of them in the not too far distance.

"Ahem." Shikamaru said as he stopped just a few feet from Kakashi and Sakura. "I hate to interrupt, but Naruto sent me here to summon you to the Hokage's office."

"What for?" Sakura asked.

"He wants to talk to both of you."

"About what?"

"I think you already know." Shikamaru said.

Kakashi and Sakura shot each other a look.

"That's what I was afraid of." Sakura said.

"As the Hokage's adviser, I'll tell you this much, just show up and get it over with. We all know what Naruto is like...The sooner he loses it, the sooner he'll cool off."

"So you're basically saying to rip him off quickly, like a Band-aid."

"Exactly. I won't lie to you, it's still going to hurt, but at least you won't have him on your ass anymore." Shikamaru said.

"Shikamaru's right, Sakura. Let's just get this over with." Kakashi said, already starting to get up.

"But we were having such a lovely afternoon!" Sakura complained, reluctantly getting up herself.

"It can't be helped. We'll just have to make plans for another lovely afternoon." Kakashi said, kissing Sakura on the top of her head.

Shikamaru turned away from them, feeling like an intruder. He had seen all the tabloids, but it was still strange seeing them like this. In truth, if you didn't know Kakashi and Sakura, they seemed like any other couple. Kakashi aged slowly, giving Sakura plenty of time to catch up to him. In fact, right now they looked only a few years apart from each other, not the gaping 14 years apart that they really were, but Shikamaru did know that there was that much of an age difference between them. He also knew full well that Kakashi had once been Sakura's teacher. If Shikamaru were to do a comparison, it would be like Ino dating Asuma-sensei, which was just weird, and yet...

Shikamaru turned back around just in time to see Kakashi put an around Sakura's shoulders and Sakura instinctively lean into his side, some of the apprehension on her face at being summoned by the Hokage disappearing.

...And yet Kakashi seemed to be exactly what Sakura needed whenever she needed to be comforted, not only now, but for as long as Shikamaru had known them, back to the very beginnings of Team 7.

"It'll be okay. I promise. Naruto just needs to let off some steam, that's all." Shikamaru smiled, trying to reassure them.

"Thanks, Shikamaru." Kakashi and Sakura both said, then they both followed behind him as he lead the way towards the Hokage building, Kakashi's arm around Sakura's shoulders and Sakura's arm around Kakashi's waist the entire way.

* * *

><p>"I'll be right outside the door if you need me." Shikamaru said, looking apologetically at Kakashi and Sakura. He felt like he was sending them off to the slaughter even though they didn't deserve it.<p>

Kakashi and Sakura thanked him again.

Shikamaru gave a slight nod and then knocked on the Hokage's office door.

"Come in," said a voice inside.

Shikamaru opened the door and walked in first.

Kakashi and Sakura took a deep breath and then walked in after him.

"I brought you Kakashi and Sakura like you asked." Shikamaru said.

"Thanks, Shikamaru. You may go." Naruto said, dismissing Shikamaru who bowed before him before leaving the room and gently closing the door behind him.

The minute Shikamaru was gone, the softness in Naruto's eyes disappeared, replaced by a hard glare that he directed at Kakashi and Sakura from across his desk.

Kakashi and Sakura withered before it. Yes, this was Naruto, but this wasn't just Naruto anymore. Years of being Hokage, few as they may be, had changed him. Naruto could still be childish and silly at times, but the weight of responsibility had also taught him how to carry his title. He could be a hardass when he needed to be, like he needed to be now.

"Kaka-sensei, Sakura-chan. Do you know why I asked you here?"

They both nodded, but it was Kakashi who spoke first. "If this is in regards to us going against the public statement you made denouncing any romantic ties between Sakura and I, we both sincerely apologize."

"Yes, we're really sorry, Naruto! We didn't mean to undermine your authority like that!" Sakura said.

Naruto seemed taken aback. He had been ready to go on a tirade, but they had both cut to the chase before he could. However, Naruto was still determined to blow off some steam. "W-well, yeah! I stood up for you two! I trusted you and believed you when you said that there was nothing going on between you! And what do you do? This!" he said hotly, as he gestured to the piles of tabloid papers spread out across his desk. Each paper had an image of Kakashi and Sakura on the front cover in some sort of public display of affection.

"Again, we're SO sorry!" Sakura said. "We never meant to betray you like that!"

"I know you didn't, Sakura-chan, but you did! Did you know that as it is, I'm having a hard time getting people to take me seriously as Hokage because I'm so young and because I have a reputation for being a troublemaker in the past? Forget that I also helped save the entire ninja nation in the past. And even though I try to be the best Hokage that I can, I will always have enemies out there trying to take me down any way that they can, and a scandal like this-" Naruto said, holding a tabloid up for emphasis, "Might be all that they need. After all, who wants to follow a Hokage who doesn't even know what the heck is going on between his two former teammates?"

"We are so sorry!" Sakura and Kakashi repeated.

"I know you are, okay? I know that you'd never purposely try to hurt me like that, but in the future, will you two at least try to bring me into the loop? It may not seem like it now, but I'm actually really happy for you. I mean it's kind of weird..really weird, actually...that you two are dating each other, but I'm happy for you anyway. I've seen the photos. I've heard the stories. Heck, I've even seen it for myself! I get it. You two make each other happy and you're good for each other. The last thing I want to do is to break that up just to save my reputation, so I won't, but I'm begging you, please don't make me look like a fool again because I'm fully capable of doing that all by myself without your help!"

Kakashi and Sakura smiled slightly at that.

When Naruto saw their smiles, he flashed them one of his huge grins in return, which made Kakashi and Sakura smile even bigger knowing that things were good between them again now that Naruto had had his say.

"So you're really okay with me dating Kaka-sensei?" Sakura asked timidly, knowing Naruto's long time crush on her even if he was married to Hinata now.

"Are you kidding me? Of course not!" Naruto said, but once he saw Sakura shrink a little again, Naruto said more gently, "But I could think of worse people you could have ended up with, so in comparison to them, I'd much rather have you end up with Kaka-sensei!"

"You can be really amazing sometimes, Naruto, you know that?" Sakura said, throwing her arms around him and giving him a big hug.

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, then softened, and he hugged Sakura back. "Only sometimes?" Naruto asked.

"Always." Sakura corrected.

Kakashi smiled at them, relieved to see his two former students on good terms with each other again.

Naruto smiled at him from over Sakura's shoulder. "Come here, Kaka-sensei. I kind of hate you for being the one to end up with Sakura-chan, but I'm kind of glad, too. At least you're not some stranger I know nothing about that I have to secretly send spies on, so-" Naruto waved his hands, gesturing for Kakashi to come join them.

Kakashi laughed, then allowed himself to be enveloped into the group hug.

"If anyone ever contests your right to be Hokage, point him or her out to me and I have no problems going all Shannaro on his or her ass, okay? Because as far as I'm concerned, you're the best Hokage this ninja nation has ever seen!" Sakura said, still hugging Naruto.

"I feel the same way." Kakashi said, still hugging Naruto also.

"Thanks you guys!" Naruto said. "I'd give you both a hug, but we're already hugging!"

They all laughed and decided that they'd just have to settle for hugging each other even tighter.

* * *

><p>After leaving the Hokage's office, Sakura really needed to get back to the hospital and Kakashi really needed to get back to reading <em>Icha,<em> _Icha_...No, keeping a lookout for lawbreakers. Yes, that.

"Why don't you come over to my place later tonight and I'll make you dinner?" Kakashi suggested.

Sakura felt her face heat up. "Aren't you sick of me by now?" she laughed nervously.

"Never." Kakashi said sincerely.

"That's really sweet of you, but I wouldn't want you to go through all that trouble."

"It's okay, it's no trouble at all."

"But I'm usually really tired after work, you know? I might just want to go home and rest afterwards."

"That's okay. I can make something and bring it over to your place if you want."

"No, you really don't have to do that!" Sakura insisted, laughing nervously again.

"Sakura..." Kakashi eyed her suspiciously, "What's really going on?" he asked, raising an eyebrow up at her.

"Nothing!" Sakura lied. "I just think that I'll be really tired after work, that's all."

Kakashi said nothing and simply continued to stare at her.

"Okay, fine!" Sakura gave in. "I'm afraid that it'll end up in the tabloids that we're going to each other's homes now, okay?"

"That's what you're afraid of? But why?"

"Because I don't want them to assume that we're sleeping with each other!" Sakura blurted out.

Kakashi looked taken aback. "Oh," he said. "But, Sakura, they thought that we were sleeping with each other long before we were even really together. Remember what they thought I was doing to you when we were just hiding out in the Hokage building and having lunch?"

"Yes." Sakura said, her face burning up at the memory.

"Right, so it doesn't matter what we do now, they're just going to assume the same thing anyway. If anything, they're going to assume it even more now that we're officially together and now that they have all these photos of us kissing each other all over the village."

"I know, but if they catch me going to your place or catch you going to mine, it's like we're giving them all the proof that they could ever need."

"So let them have it. Let them think whatever they want. We're two grown adults who are dating each other and it's none of their business to begin with whether or not we're sleeping with each other, but if you're not comfortable coming over to my place or me coming over to yours, I'm not going to pressure you. I just thought that it would be nice if I could make you something and if we could spend more time together."

"I think it's really sweet that you want to cook dinner for me and I do want to spend more time with you. And you're right," Sakura relented. "I'm caring too much about what other people might think, and in this relationship, I really have to learn not to do that. So sure, why not? I'll come over tonight."

"Are you sure? You're not just saying that to make me feel better?"

"No, I really do want to come over. Our time together was kind of cut short today with Shikamaru and Naruto interrupting us, so this will make up for it. Besides, in all these years that we've known each other, we've never really spent time at each other's homes, so it'll be nice to see where you live, or at least spend more time in it."

"So, I guess it's a date then."

"Yes, I guess it is."

"Well, all right then. I'll see you after work, Sakura."

"Yes, I'll see you later, Kaka-sensei."

Then they kissed each other goodbye and went their separate ways at least for the time being. From that moment until they would see each other again later that night, Kakashi and Sakura felt excited and nervous and like they were taking their relationship to the next level because regardless of what everyone else thought about them, sex isn't the only way to take things to the next level. Sometimes, it can be something as simple as letting someone into your home because it's just one step closer to letting them further into your life.

To be continued...


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Sakura stood in front of Kakashi's door, her heart racing. She couldn't believe that she was actually going to do this.

In the past, they never really had a reason to go to each other's homes. There was a clear separation between work and personal life. If they ever did meet up, they did it at a training field or near the Konoha Gates or some other public place.

At most, Sakura had seen his front door and a little of what lay beyond it as she spoke to him about one matter or another from his front step.

Kakashi didn't really visit her at her home either. The first time he had was when her parents found out that he would be her teacher and they welcomed him into their home, but even then, Sakura hadn't been there, only meeting Kakashi for the first time with Naruto and Sasuke in the classroom.

Sakura wondered now what her parents would think about her going into her former teacher's home. She had tried to avoid her parents throughout the ordeal with the tabloids, but they had inevitably confronted her about it.

"Is it true? Are you dating him?"

"Are you sleeping with him?"

"Are you really pregnant?"

"What? No, of course not!" Sakura had said defensively.

"Then why is everyone convinced that you are?"

"Because they're tabloids! They make up whatever they want just to sell papers!"

"But there must be some truth behind all this for so many people to be saying pretty much the same things."

"I promise you, Mom and Dad...We are JUST FRIENDS!"

Sakura felt her face heat up at the memory, at how adamant she had been, because at the time she truly believed that they were just friends and nothing more. At the time she had been so convincing because she was convinced herself that that was the truth. How was she to know that there had been some truth behind all the rumors after all? It was like everyone else knew before she even did that there was something more than friendship going on between her and Kakashi.

Then when the tabloids evolved from just rumors to actual photos of Kakashi and Sakura all over each other all over the village, her parents' line of questioning also evolved.

"I thought you said that there was nothing going on between you two! I thought you said that you two were just friends! What happened? Why did you lie to us?"

"Because I wasn't lying to you at the time! We really were just friends, but then things changed!"

"Are you pregnant?"

"What? NO!"

"You know, we've been waiting for you to finally meet someone, but we didn't think that it would be your former teacher!"

"I didn't plan it that way, okay? It just sort of happened!"

Sakura's father, always being the more easygoing one of her parents, was the one to speak up for his daughter when he saw the desperate look in his daughter's eyes.

"Mebuki, take it easy on Sakura. She's a grown woman now and she can date anyone she wants. Besides, she could have done much worse. We're talking about Hatake Kakashi here, the previous Hokage. Our daughter is dating a Hokage, and even before that, Kakashi-sama was already an important man."

"Yes, but does it have to be her former teacher? How much older is he than you?"

Sakura had just opened up her mouth to answer when her dad cut in.

"Sakura, are you happy?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Then that's all we need to know."

"What? No it's not! You've always been too easy on her, Kizashi! I know she's always been daddy's little girl, but if anything, that should make you as upset as I am, if not more upset that our daughter is dating an older man!"

"Mebuki, when you first found out that Kakashi-sama was going to be Sakura's teacher, you were as thrilled as I was!"

"Yes, I was thrilled that he was going to be her TEACHER, not the man who will be sleeping with her!"

"For the last time, we are not sleeping with each other!" Sakura had said exasperatedly.

"But you're dating him! You may not be sleeping with him now, but dating him makes the odds of sleeping with him that much greater!"

"Mebuki, all this time you've been saying that Sakura better hurry up and give you grandkids, so if Kakashi-sama does sleep with her-"

"Don't you even go there, Kizashi!"

"I'm just saying-"

Sakura sighed. She knew that her parents only had her best interest at heart, but they could be a little too much sometimes.

In the end, Sakura had simply slipped away with neither one of her parents noticing. If it weren't for the fact that they always quarreled with each other anyway, Sakura would have felt more guilty, but knowing her parents, they'd be mad at each other for a while, make up, and then find something else to argue about later.

Her parents could think whatever they wanted. This was her life, she was a grown woman now, and she could do whatever she wanted. They had raised her the best that they could, but now it was her turn to make her own decisions and deal with the consequences.

So now Sakura stood in front of Kakashi's door feeling nervous, but as nervous as she felt, it also felt right to be there. It felt like the next natural step. They had been dating for a while now. Of course he would want her to come over and in turn, she would want him to come over to her place sometime also. This is what people who were dating did...They visited each other in each other's homes.

Sakura took a deep breath and finally knocked on Kakashi's door. A few seconds later, Kakashi opened it.

"Hi, Sakura. Come on in," he said, smiling at her and gesturing for her to enter.

Sakura smiled at him and went in. This much of his apartment she had seen while standing outside his door in the past. The sofa, the coffee table, the dining table and chairs, the kitchen. It was all very basic and practical, and it was all very orderly, not a pig sty like some other bachelor pads, but that was to be expected. Kakashi was a military man, and a captain at that. Sure, he was late at times...all the time...but other than that, he was still very disciplined.

"It smells good in here." Sakura observed, taking in a deep breath.

"Thanks. Dinner will be ready soon. It just needs a couple of more minutes to cook. In the meantime, do you want to take a tour? Not that there's much to see. My place isn't that big."

"Sure." Sakura said.

"Well, this is the living room, that's the dining area, that's the kitchen, and the bathroom is over there, but if we go upstairs-"

Sakura followed Kakashi upstairs.

"There's another bathroom and this is my bedroom."

Sakura took just a quick glance from outside his bedroom door, not actually entering it. It didn't seem like Kakashi would have protested if she had actually gone in, but this tour alone was already more than she had ever seen of his home in all the years that she had known him. It was already a huge step into his private life.

"Thanks for the tour," she said sincerely.

"You're welcome," he smiled at her, then they both went back downstairs with Kakashi going back to his cooking and Sakura placing herself on a stool next to the kitchen counter.

"So how was the rest of your day?" Kakashi asked.

"It was a little crazy since I came back a little late because of that meeting we had with Naruto."

"Oh really? What happened?"

And they spent the rest of the evening talking while Kakashi cooked, and while they ate, and while they cleared the table, and while they washed and dried the dishes together, and while they sat resting on the sofa shoulder to shoulder.

After a while, Sakura gave a big yawn.

"Sleepy?" Kakashi asked softly.

Sakura nodded, barely able to keep her eyes open. "I wasn't kidding when I told you that I get really tired after my shifts at work. I'm on my feet pretty much all day, so..." she trailed off and yawned again. "Anyway, I should probably go," she said, making no moves to get up.

"You don't have to go, Sakura, you can sleep here if you want."

Sakura didn't answer.

When Kakashi turned to look at her, her eyes were completely closed.

"Sakura?" Kakashi tried again.

The only response he got was of Sakura's head lolling to the side, only coming to a stop as it fell gently on his shoulder.

Kakashi smiled and tilted his head, resting his cheek on the crown of Sakura's head. Then he closed his eyes and fell asleep also.

To be continued...


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Sakura woke up and slowly opened up her eyes to the sunlight pouring into the room though a window. As her bleary eyes cleared and she grew more awake and alert, she quickly realized that things weren't where they were supposed to be and that the layout of the room was all wrong.

_Where am I?_ Sakura thought.

When she looked down, she saw that an army green comforter with a shuriken pattern all over it was pulled up to her chin. On the windowsill sat a potted plant, a couple of framed photos, and a complete collection of the_ Icha, Icha_ series.

"Oh my god." Sakura said out loud. _Did I_...she silently wondered, but when she lifted up the covers and looked down at herself, she was relieved to see that she was still fully clothed. Sakura let out a sigh of relief, but still, how did she end up here? How did she end up in Kakashi's room, in Kakashi's bed? The last thing that she remembered, she was sitting on the sofa side by side with him talking to him until she could barely keep her eyes open anymore.

_I must have fallen asleep and he carried me up here,_ Sakura figured._  
><em>

For another fleeting moment Sakura panicked and wondered if Kakashi had slept next to her all night, but when she looked to the other side of the bed, it was still mostly made up, not even a dent on the pillow.

_Okay, so he didn't sleep here last night, so where did he sleep and where is he now? _

As Sakura sat up in bed to look for Kakashi, the framed photos on the windowsill caught her attention. She hadn't really taken a close look at them last night when Kakashi gave her the house tour. She had just glanced quickly into his bedroom from the doorway and moved on, but now that she had his room all to herself...

Sakura brought her face closer to the photographs. The first one was of their old team. She had a copy of the same photo in her own room. Sakura smiled at it. She was so young back then, they all were. To think how much things had changed since then with Naruto as Hokage, Sasuke away from the village, and she and Kakashi...

Sakura blushed and moved on to the next photo.

The second photo was what had to be Kakashi's old team because the Fourth was still alive in it. It was Sakura's first time seeing Kakashi as a child. Even back then he was a good looking kid with spiky silver hair and...Sakura frowned...a mask on. Seriously, how long ago did he start wearing that damned mask? Maybe if she could find baby photos of him, then she could finally see him without a mask on. Surely he didn't pop out of the womb already wearing one, and she doubted that his parents would have put a mask on him as an infant or a toddler.

Sakura would have continued obsessing over the enigma of Kakashi's mask, but the image of the girl in the middle stole her attention. Sakura could see her own reflection in the glass superimposed over that of the girl. Their faces were a near perfect match except that the girl in the photo was a decade younger, had dark hair instead of pink, and had markings on her face. Kakashi hadn't been lying. Sakura really did look a great deal like Rin. Even Rin's pose was similar to Sakura's in the team photo: super excited, smiling, eyes closed.

In fact, it wasn't just Sakura and Rin who had surprising similarities in the photos: Both the Fourth and Kakashi as senseis were smiling with their eyes closed, a hand on each of the boys' heads, and the boys in both photographs looked sullen. If it weren't for the differences in hair, and clothes, and the fact that they were completely different people in each photograph, with the exception of Kakashi, the two team photographs could have been carbon copies of each other.

How did that happen? How, through all that space and time, could they look so similar to each other, right down to the poses? What were the chances?

No wonder Kakashi was so protective of their team. Whenever he looked at Team 7, he must have seen his old childhood team and feared that Team 7 would end up the same way...Everyone dead, except for one.

And what about her, a dead ringer for Rin, the girl he had promised to protect, but failed to do so? Was that why practically every single time that Sakura was in danger, Kakashi had swooped in to protect her? Because she was Rin reincarnated, so Kakashi felt obliged to protect her, too? And was that why he was dating her now? Because she looked so much like the girl he had lost?

Sakura backed away from the photos. It was all too much. She had been so caught up in all the kissing, the talking, the romantic gestures, and the tabloids and everyone's reactions to them that she had lost sight of this major pitfall in their relationship. As if the big difference in their ages and Kakashi being her former teacher weren't enough.

_What am I doing? What did I get myself into? _Sakura wondered, still backing away from the photos until her back hit the bedroom door.

It was all her fault. Kakashi had told her at the cemetery that his feelings for her and Rin were all mixed up, but she allowed herself to become entwined with him anyway because she felt sorry for him, because she wanted him, because what danger could a dead girl possibly pose to her now? But in hindsight, Sakura now realized that a dead girl could pose a great deal of problems because she threatened to haunt her relationship with Kakashi and shake the very foundation of that relationship.

Sakura decided that she would get out while she could. It's not like she and Kakashi had consummated anything. She would just tell him that it was all a big mistake and that it would probably be better if they went their separate ways.

Sakura pushed away from the bedroom door and turned around to slowly open it. Sakura planned to slip away that way, too, and when Kakashi confronted her later, that's when she would tell him everything and break up with him.

Sakura slipped past the bedroom door then walked slowly down the stairs, trying to be as quiet as possible just in case Kakashi was still asleep down there. As she neared the bottom of the stairs, she saw that Kakashi was indeed still asleep on the sofa.

She had just gotten down the last step when she heard-

"Good morning," Kakashi said in a gravelly, just woken up voice.

"Good morning," Sakura replied back just a little louder than a whisper.

"Did you sleep well?" Kakashi asked, rubbing at his eyes with the heels of his hands.

"Yes, I did, thank you. You?"

"Yes, I did, thanks."

"Are you sure? It can't be very comfortable sleeping on a sofa all night."

"It's not that bad. At least it's more comfortable than sleeping in a sleeping bag outside, in the cold, on a ground full of pebbles."

"Yes, that's true," Sakura said, remembering some of their less than pleasant sleeping arrangements during missions. "Anyway, you really didn't have to do that. I would have been perfectly fine sleeping on the sofa." Sakura said, embarrassed for kicking Kakashi out of his own bed.

"Don't worry about it. It seemed like you needed the bed more than I did, so I was happy to let you have it." Kakashi smiled at her. "Besides, I'm sure you wouldn't have appreciated it if you woke up and found me next to you in bed, not knowing what happened between us last night. At least this way, you know that nothing happened."

Sakura felt herself falling back into Kakashi's smile and how sweet, kind, and considerate he was to her.

_Rin,_ she forced herself to remember.

"Kaka-sensei, about last night...It can't happen again."

Kakashi's smile faded and his eyes widened. "What do you mean? I promise you, Sakura, I didn't touch you. I mean, I had to carry you upstairs, but other than that-"

Sakura felt her heart twist inside her chest. Just the image of Kakashi lifting her up from the sofa, carrying her all the way up the stairs, and gently laying her down in bed and pulling the covers up over her was making it harder for her to break up with him.

"No, it's not that. I know that you were a complete gentleman last night and I really appreciate it. It's just that-" Sakura sighed.

"What?"

"Remember how you told me that you couldn't figure out if your feelings for me were because of me or because of Rin?"

"Oh, Sakura-"

"Anyway, I don't know if I can do it. I can't live in the shadow of a girl you once loved and lost. I'm not her, Kaka-sensei. I will never be your Rin. I will always only be me, and I'm sorry for that. And as much as I want to be with you, I can't be with you only to have you see her whenever you look at me."

"Oh, Sakura..." Kakashi said again, combing his hands through his hair in despair.

"Anyway, I just thought you should know. And in spite of everything that was going against us, I really did enjoy being with you."

"And I really enjoyed being with you." Kakashi said softly.

Sakura smiled sadly at him and nodded. "I should probably go," she said after a while.

Kakashi nodded, dazed.

Sakura was just about to leave when-

"Wait. No, don't go." Kakashi said.

Sakura hesitated.

"Please, Sakura, just-" Kakashi gestured for her to sit next to him on the sofa.

Sakura stood frozen, not sure whether to stay or to go.

"Please?" Kakashi repeated.

Sakura gave in and walked back towards the sofa to sit next to him.

"Listen, it's true that I see bits of Rin in you, but I also see bits of Obito in Naruto. They were both so determined to become Hokage. And I saw bits of myself in Sasuke because we were both so arrogant. I can't help seeing my old team in ours because they're both so close to me. They're the closest things that I have to a family. _You're_ the closest thing that I have left to a family."

Sakura started to shake her head. This was how she got involved with Kakashi in the first place, because she was too soft of heart and she felt sorry for him. She couldn't stay in this relationship with him just because he kept playing the pity card.

Kakashi could see himself losing her again.

"Sakura, I'm not expecting you to be Rin. I know that you're not her, and I'm not in this relationship just because you remind me of her. I chose you because, crazily enough, because you're you. Sure you can get a little scary at times when you lose your temper, but that's what makes me love you even more...Because you're not afraid to stand up for yourself and put people in their place. As kind, sweet, and caring as you can be, you can also be tough when you need to be.

You know what else I love about you? The fact that I don't have to try to be anyone else but myself when I'm with you. When I'm with other people, I feel like I have to live up to my names: Sharingan Kakashi, Copy Ninja Kakashi, the Sixth Hokage, but when I'm with you, it's different. We've known each other for so long now that it's just natural being with you. I think that at this point, it would be stranger to go on living life without you in it, so don't go, Sakura. Don't go because you think I don't love you for you because that couldn't be further from the truth. I love you for you so much, you don't even know."

Sakura stared at him stunned. After all that, all she could say was "You _love_ me?"

Kakashi's eyes widened in surprise. "Well...yeah. Why do you think that I've been dating you all this time?"

Sakura felt tears involuntarily run down her cheeks and she found herself laughing at the same time.

"Sakura, are you okay?" Kakashi asked, quickly jumping off the sofa to grab a handful of tissues from the bathroom to give to Sakura.

Sakura took them gratefully, futilely tried to clean herself up, then nodded while still laughing and crying at the same. "I love you, too!" she finally choked out. "That's why I can't stop crying! Because I was going to break up with you even though I loved you because I didn't think that you felt the same way!"

"Oh, Sakura." Kakashi said for a third time, cupping Sakura's face in his hands and pressing his forehead against hers. "I have loved you for the longest time. You never had any reason to worry about me ever loving you."

Sakura laughed some more and felt even more hot tears stream down her face.

Kakashi wiped them gently away and then pressed his lips to hers, calming Sakura down a bit.

When they finally parted, Kakashi still kept his forehead pressed to hers, both their eyes closed.

"Well, I'm glad that we cleared all that up." Sakura laughed.

"Yes, so am I." Kakashi said, gently rubbing a thumb back and forth against Sakura's cheek.

"God, I'm such a mess." Sakura said, pressing the wad of tissues in her hand up to her nose.

"Do you want to clean up?" Kakashi asked, finally pulling away from her.

"Yes, I probably should. I still have to go home, change, and go to work. It's a good thing that I'm the boss because I've been getting a lot of tardies lately!"

Kakashi laughed. "You can shower here if you want."

"No, that's okay. I'll shower at home. That way I'll have fresh clothes to change into. I'll just clean up my face and be on my way."

Kakashi nodded and Sakura went into the bathroom to clean up.

A few minutes later, she came back out looking a little bit better. Her eyes were still red and puffy from so much crying, but otherwise, she looked relatively decent.

"Okay, I really need to go now." Sakura said, rushing over to quickly kiss Kakashi goodbye. "Thank you for last night and I'm sorry for falling asleep on you like that. I don't know what came over me. One minute we were talking, and the next thing that I knew, I was out of it."

"It's okay. I know how tiring it must be working all those hours at the hospital. I shouldn't even have asked you to come over last night."

"No, I wanted to come. I really enjoyed spending last night talking with you. It was nice," she smiled at him.

"Yes, it was," he smiled back. "You know, you're free to sleep here whenever you want."

Sakura blushed at the idea of her spending more nights at his place.

"Thanks, but I was thinking that maybe next time you can come over to my place instead. That way, if I do fall asleep on you again, you can just leave me there and slip away."

"Okay, sounds good to me." Kakashi laughed.

"By the way, I didn't drool on you, did I?"

"No, you didn't." Kakashi laughed some more.

"Okay, good." Sakura said, still blushing profusely. "God, I'm going to be so late!" she said, but just as she was about to open the door and leave, she stopped.

"What? What's wrong?" Kakashi asked confused.

"I'm afraid to go out there. I just know that there's going to be paparazzi ready to take pictures of me doing The Walk of Shame even though nothing happened between us last night."

"Oh, right. I forgot about those guys. Do you want me to create a distraction?"

"What did you have in mind?"

* * *

><p>Sakura jumped out of Kakashi's bedroom window then jumped from rooftop to rooftop headed for home. She couldn't help but laugh and shake her head knowing that Kakashi was sitting in a chair right outside his front door right now "sunbathing" in the early morning light with nothing but his mask and a pair of swim trunks on while reading <em>Icha, Icha<em>...No, keeping a lookout for lawbreakers. Yes, that.

To be continued...


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

There was a light knocking on the door and Sakura looked frantically around, making sure that everything was in place, then she ran her fingers quickly over her hair to make sure that it wasn't sticking up funny anywhere before finally opening the door.

"Yo." Kakashi said.

"Hi, Kaka-sensei." Sakura said, smiling back at him.

"Here, I brought these for you," Kakashi said, handing Sakura a bouquet of flowers.

"Oh, thank you! They're beautiful!" Sakura said, accepting them and smelling them appreciatively. "Come on in," she said, standing aside to let him enter.

Kakashi smiled in return then went inside.

Although Kakashi had been to Sakura's parents' house back when Sakura still lived there, he hadn't been to her new place ever since she had moved out on her own. By that time, Team 7 had long been dispersed, the wars long since over, and there just really wasn't any reason for Kakashi to visit. They had remained friends throughout all that time, but not the kind of friends who hung out at each other's homes the way Sakura and Ino did. Kakashi and Sakura's friendship was more of the "see each other randomly in the village, have some small talk, and then continue on their way" kind. Now, however, Kakashi was getting closer to Sakura even more than Ino.

"Let me just put these in a vase and I'll show you around," Sakura said.

"Sure, no problem," Kakashi said, making himself comfortable on the living room sofa.

While Sakura busily looked for something to put her flowers in, Kakashi perused the reading material on the coffee table. Instead of fashion magazines or art books full of pretty pictures, Sakura's coffee table had neatly stacked medical journals. Kakashi opened one up to a random page and read a few sentences. They were so impersonal and full of medical jargon that those few sentences alone made him want to close his eyes and fall asleep. It was definitely no _Icha, Icha_!

"Some light reading you have here." Kakashi observed.

Sakura looked over the kitchen counter as she filled a glass vase with water. "Yeah, I know, right?" she said loudly over the kitchen faucet's rushing water. "They put me to sleep, too, sometimes. It's one of the reasons why I read them...To put my insomnia at bay!"

Kakashi laughed.

Sakura turned off the faucet, walked out of the kitchen, and put the vase of flowers in the middle of the already set dining table. "But seriously, I have to stay on top of the latest medical ninjutsus because I've come to learn that what I learn today may save someone's life tomorrow."

Kakashi smiled and nodded in appreciation. There was a reason why Sakura was head of the hospital. It wasn't enough that she fulfilled her hours at the hospital. She also spent her free time at home trying to stay ahead of the game. Being a medic wasn't just Sakura's job, it was her way of life.

"Come on, I'll show you around, not that my place is that much bigger than yours." Sakura said.

Kakashi got up from the sofa and followed her.

"So you've seen the living room, kitchen, and dining area, and there's a small bathroom over there. Oh, and I have a small backyard," Sakura said, opening up a glass sliding door.

Kakashi followed Sakura outside. She wasn't kidding, it really was small, just big enough for her to put two patio chairs, one small table in-between, and few potted plants here and there.

"It's not much," she admitted, "but I really like coming out here on my days off to eat breakfast or read one of my boring medical journals with a hot cup of tea."

"It's nice." Kakashi said, because it really was the perfect spot to do such things.

"Thanks," Sakura said. "Come on, I'll show you the upstairs," she said, leading them both back inside and sliding the glass door closed behind them before leading the way upstairs.

"So that's the guest bedroom. Ino sleeps there sometimes, although I don't know how much she'll sleep there now that she's married," Sakura said, unable to keep some of the wistfulness out of her voice. "And that's the guest bathroom," she continued on, "And that's my bedroom. I have my own bathroom inside."

Kakashi nodded, politely peeking into each room as Sakura pointed them out, but not entering them.

Kakashi hadn't been sure what he was expecting when Sakura had invited him over. Maybe he was expecting it to be really girly, but even though Sakura's house definitely had a feminine touch, it wasn't overly girly. It wasn't like she had floral wallpaper, lace doilies, and the color pink everywhere. In other words, Kakashi didn't feel uncomfortable being there, which was a good thing since he was hoping to spend more time in it in the future.

Kakashi also couldn't help but notice that although Sakura's home was uncluttered and organized, everything had a thin layer of dust over it. Kakashi understood, however, that Sakura was too busy at the hospital to stay at home cleaning all day. At least dirty clothes weren't strewn all over the floor or dirty dishes piled up in the sink.

In the end, Kakashi's overall impression of Sakura's house was that it was light and airy and that she had turned it into a retreat from her stresses at the hospital.

"You have a nice place." Kakashi said as Sakura led them both back downstairs.

"Thanks, it's not very big, but it's just me anyway, so..." Sakura said with a shrug. "Besides, it's close to the hospital which is really convenient for me, especially if I get called in for an emergency."

Kakashi nodded again. He could tell that Sakura lived very humbly for someone of her status. After all, she was head of the hospital, the Fifth's former apprentice, and an elite ninja who stood above all other elite ninjas. The income from just one of those jobs already paid well, but Sakura had all three under her belt. Sakura was a wealthy woman even if she didn't flaunt it. She could have easily bought a really big house in a really nice part of the village, but she bought a small house, albeit a nice one, close to the hospital instead.

Ironically, Sakura didn't even need to work at the hospital, she was so rich. Kakashi was sure that she could have lived comfortably for the rest of her life without working if she wanted to, but for the same reason that Naruto chose to be Hokage and Kakashi chose to be a law enforcer, they did their jobs not because they needed the money (After all, they were all paid handsomely since they, for the most part, were the ones who helped win the war), but because they were doing jobs that they felt needed to be done and gave their lives personal meaning and purpose. It seemed like the only way to balance things out after so many lives were lost during the war...To save and protect all the lives that remained.

As Sakura walked down the stairs in front of Kakashi, Kakashi watched as her short pink hair at the back of her head bounced every time she went down a step, and he stared at the white circle on the back of her shirt, bold against its red backdrop. There had been a time when she and the rest of Team 7 had followed obediently behind him, watching his back. Now he was the one following behind them and watching their backs. It was the way it should be, and it made him feel both grateful and proud: Grateful that Team 7 wasn't among the lives lost, and proud of what they'd become. Well, Sasuke was sort of an exception, but 2 out of 3 wasn't bad.

"So are you ready to eat?" Sakura asked once they were back downstairs.

"Yes, definitely! It smells good in here." Kakashi said.

"Thanks. I could lie to you and say that I cooked everything myself, but I won't. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it's all take out. I just don't have the energy to cook when I come home from work, so I hope you don't mind that I ordered in."

"No, not at all, and you don't have to apologize. I completely understand. Besides, I didn't come here just so that you would cook for me, I came here because I wanted to see you."

"Thanks, that's really sweet," Sakura said blushing, "But I swear that I can cook!"

Kakashi laughed. "I know you can. You've taken your turn cooking for us during missions, remember?"

"Oh, right."

"I do like your cooking, though."

"Thanks. I promise I'll cook for you again. Maybe on my day off."

"That sounds great. Thank you, Sakura."

"You're welcome."

"In the meantime, what did you order for tonight? It really does smell good."

"Well, I think you'll be pleased to know that it isn't Ichiraku's."

"I love it already!" Kakashi smiled at her.

Before long, they were both sitting down and eating and talking, then talking and cleaning the table up, and then finally just talking on the sofa like they had the night before at Kakashi's. And just like the night before, Kakashi found himself in the middle of saying something to Sakura when he noticed that Sakura had suddenly become noticeably still and silent.

"Sakura?" Kakashi asked softly.

When he turned around to look at her, he saw that her eyes were closed and that she was already fast asleep. If he hadn't known Sakura, he would have thought that she was narcoleptic, but he knew that wasn't the case, she was just exhausted. It had to take a toll being head of the hospital when being a regular medic was stressful enough.

Kakashi felt bad. Maybe he would tell her tomorrow that they didn't have to go to each other's houses after work, especially since they still ate lunch together at Ichiraku's anyway. They were just trying to find more hours in the day to spend together, but they could just as easily visit each other at each other's homes on her days off when she wasn't so exhausted.

Kakashi didn't get it, though. Sakura had joked that she read medical journals to help her get over her insomnia, and yet whenever he was around, she had no problems falling asleep. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. After all, did it mean that he put her mind enough at ease that she had no problems falling asleep when he was around, or did it mean that he was boring her and putting her to sleep? Kakashi seriously hoped that it was the first one.

Then for a the second night in a row, Kakashi found himself lifting Sakura up off the sofa, carrying her up a flight of stairs, and gently laying her down in bed, but this time into her own bed, not his. He pulled the covers up over her then smiled down at her. She looked so sweet and peaceful that he really didn't want to leave her.

_Maybe I'll stay just for a few more minutes,_ Kakashi thought, kneeling in front of Sakura and tucking a lock of her pink hair behind her ear. Kakashi watched mesmerized as her chest rose and fell every time she took in the deep breaths of someone deep in sleep. Soon, Kakashi's own breaths fell into time with Sakura's and Kakashi started to feel sleepy also. He folded his arms in front of him on the mattress and pillowed his head on it, his head turned towards Sakura. The last thing he saw was Sakura deep asleep before falling asleep himself.

To be continued...


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

Sakura woke up a few minutes before her alarm clock went off like she usually did, but unlike usual, she was surprised to see something silvery and spiky on one side of her bed. Sakura's breath caught and she jolted a little in fear until she realized...

Sakura brought her face in closer.

_Kaka-sensei?_ she thought.

Yes, apparently it was. He had his head pillowed on his folded arms on the mattress while the rest of him hung off the side of the bed, his legs tucked underneath him in a kneeling position.

_Did he sleep like that all night?_ Sakura wondered. It couldn't have been very comfortable and yet here he was sleeping peacefully. Then again, this was the same man who could read his book up in a tree or on top of a rooftop and be completely comfortable with it. Kakashi's standard for comfort was much different from that of other people.

Sakura considered waking him up, but found herself carefully studying his face instead. It was one thing to look at him while he was wide awake in broad daylight, but it was another to look at him in the soft gray light of early morning while he lay fast asleep.

She took that opportunity to get a good look at his scar which ran over his left eye, noticing how it also cut through his eyebrow and ran halfway down his cheek. It should have marred his face, but on him it actually looked kind of rugged and dashing, a badge of honor of his adventures out on the field.

With her eyes, she traced the profile of his nose which she could still see despite his mask. Surely he was hit in the face several times during decades of fighting with the enemy, yet his nose wasn't crooked at all. It was still perfectly straight and intact, fit for a marble statue...or apparently, a multistory carving up on the Hokage Monument.

And finally, she thought about how young he looked when he was completely relaxed like this. Kakashi didn't really look his age to begin with, barely a wrinkle to be found on his face, but sleep still managed to erase whatever burdens he carried with him during his waking hours. It occurred to Sakura that here was one of the most powerful men in the world and yet Kakashi was laying completely vulnerable at the side of her bed.

_Waking up to a sleeping Kaka-sensei is something that I can get used to_, Sakura thought, then blushed for thinking that way.

Sakura was still mesmerized by Kakashi's sleeping face when Kakashi's eyes slowly started to open.

Sakura's own eyes widened in surprise and she wasn't sure what to do. She didn't want him to catch her staring at him, but it's not like she could suddenly throw herself back down on the bed and pretend to be still asleep without looking like a big idiot, so she just smiled and said "Good morning" to him instead.

"Good morning," Kakashi replied back, returning her smile.

"So, I see you decided to spend the night."

"Uh, yeah. Sorry about that. I wasn't planning to."

"It's okay, but you could have at least gone into the guest bedroom."

_But then I wouldn't have fallen asleep with you being the last thing that I saw,_ Kakashi thought.

"I guess I was more tired than I thought and just never made it that far." Kakashi said instead. As he started to get up, he immediately regretted it. "Oh my god," he grimaced.

"What, what is it? Are you okay?" Sakura asked concerned.

"Yes, I'm fine. It just feels like ants are crawling up my legs," Kakashi said, bending down to massage his aching legs.

"That's what happens when you sleep on them all night! I still can't believe you slept like that! What happened anyway? You put me to bed and then suddenly collapsed by the side of it?"

Kakashi blushed. The last thing he wanted to tell her was that he was watching her sleep before falling asleep himself.

"Uh, yeah, I guess so." Kakashi said lamely.

Sakura raised an eyebrow up at him suspiciously, but decided to let it go because she wasn't really sure that she wanted to know what actually happened. "Here," she said, getting out of bed and going over to him. "I can take care of that for you," she said, kneeling in front of him and hovering her hands over his legs as she used her chakra to ease away the pins and needles.

Kakashi's face relaxed as he felt the pain subside. "Thank you," he said.

"You're welcome," Sakura said, getting up. "So are you hungry? Do you want some breakfast before we both leave for work?"

"Yes, breakfast sounds good, thank you."

"No problem. Come on, I'll fix you something," she said as she led the way out of the bedroom.

* * *

><p>After eating, Sakura felt like she needed to apologize to Kakashi.<p>

"I'm so sorry about falling asleep on you again last night! I don't know what's wrong with me! And the funny thing is that I usually have the hardest time falling asleep at night!" Sakura said embarrassed.

"It's okay. Like I told you before, I don't mind carrying you up to bed. I'm more worried that I might be boring you to sleep."

"No, of course not! If that were the case, I would have fallen asleep on you every time we went out to lunch, but I never did. I think it's more of a combination of me being really tired after work and you putting my mind at ease when we talk during the evenings. If it weren't for you, my mind would probably still be running wild at night and I'd still be getting only a few hours of sleep. In fact, I should probably keep you around just so that I can keep getting a full night's sleep every night!" Sakura laughed.

"Yeah, I probably should!" Kakashi also laughed.

But as their laughter died down, something occurred to Sakura. "You know what? I had meant it as a joke, but now that I think about it, would you seriously consider doing something like that for me?" she asked.

Kakashi's eyes widened. "What, stick around so that I can help you fall asleep?"

Sakura blushed and began to quickly explain.

"It's just that it's been a real problem for me falling asleep at night and that's not a good thing when you're in charge of patients and running an entire hospital. I mean, you wouldn't be doing anything differently, just coming over for dinner and talking to me like you have been. You don't even have to stay the entire night, just until I fall-"

"I'll do it." Kakashi said without hesitation.

"Really?"

"Yes, of course. We've been wanting to spend more time with each other anyway, so why not?"

"Thank you, Kaka-sensei! It really means a lot to me!"

"I'm happy to do it, but you do know that the paparazzi are going to have a heyday with this. It's one thing for you to accidentally fall asleep at my place and I help sneak you out in the morning, but it's another thing to have me come to your place and stay over night after night."

"I keep forgetting about the paparazzi!" Sakura groaned. "You know what? Screw it. Let them think whatever they want to think. Like you said, they think that we've been sleeping with each other for a long time anyway, so whatever. I give up." Sakura said in surrender.

"Are you sure about this, Sakura?" Kakashi asked skeptically.

"No, but we're dating and-" _that makes the odds of sleeping with him that much greater! _Sakura's mom's voice rang in her head.

"And I don't want to keep stopping myself from doing something that I would want to do just because of what other people might think," Sakura said out loud instead.

"I think you're finally getting the hang of this," Kakashi said, smiling proudly at Sakura.

"Not caring about what other people think?"

"Exactly. It's actually kind of attractive," Kakashi admitted.

"Really?" Sakura asked, pleased. At the same time, she realized that she was already contradicting herself by at least caring about what Kakashi thought about her.

"Yes, quite."

Sakura blushed at the half hooded gaze Kakashi was directing at her. Who knew what was running through his mind right now? Then again, this was Kakashi, the reader of smut. Sakura had a strong idea of what was going through his mind right now and it only made her blush even more.

"And the blushing only adds to it," Kakashi said, putting his hands on her hips and pulling her towards him before kissing her on the lips.

Sakura gave into it wholeheartedly like she always did and just as she thought that he was going to push things a little bit further, Kakashi pulled away from her, a smile crinkling his eyes.

"Have a good day at work today, okay? I'll see you at lunch and I look forward to seeing you again tonight," Kakashi said. Then he gave her one last quick goodbye kiss on the lips before leaving through her front door, not even caring if the paparazzi were out there waiting for him to do the Walk of Shame even if nothing happened between them last night.

After the door closed shut behind him, Sakura rested her lower back against the kitchen counter to keep her steady.

When she had proposed for Kakashi to keep coming to her place at night, she had genuinely meant it just as a means for getting a better night's sleep. She liked talking to him and it made sleep that much easier to come by, but after seeing the way Kakashi had just looked at her and reacted to her this morning, Sakura realized that she may have just increased the odds of sleeping with him, just like her mother had warned, and Sakura wondered what she had just gotten herself into.

To be continued...


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

Kakashi and Sakura sat in silence across from each other at the dining table, Kakashi noticing how Sakura wasn't even really eating, just moving her food around on her plate.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm fine. I guess I'm just not that hungry," Sakura replied, still picking idly at her food.

Silence.

"So how was work today?" Kakashi tried again.

"It was fine. You?"

"It was fine, thank you." Kakashi replied back.

Again, silence.

Kakashi eyed Sakura warily. It wasn't like her to be so closed off like this, not wanting to open up or share anything with him. Normally, it was the complete opposite: She was like an open book with him, willing to share anything and everything with him. Sometimes, they would talk for hours about nothing, or they would talk about the deepest meaning of life, or they would talk about both all in one sitting.

"Sakura, I don't know what's going on, but whatever it is, you know you can talk to me about it." Kakashi said, reaching out a hand to place on top of hers.

Sakura quickly jumped back, pulling her hand away from his in the process.

"Sakura, I was just trying to comfort you!" Kakashi said confused.

"Sorry! I don't know what's wrong with me! I didn't mean to...I'm SO sorry, okay? Thank you for wanting to comfort me, but I'm okay, really."

But Kakashi noticed that Sakura's body language was telling a completely different story. She was jumpy and nervous, and her demeanor was different from all the other times that they had been together where she had been warm, open, and completely at ease with him.

"Sakura, what's going on? You've been tense this whole time. You were fine during lunch, but now I don't know what's going on with you."

"Nothing's wrong. I'm fine," she repeated.

"No, you're not. I can see that you're not. Will just talk to me? Please?" Kakashi insisted.

Sakura saw the pleading look in his eyes and finally gave in.

"Okay, fine. When we met for lunch today, I was still okay because we were out in public, and it was a familiar, normal part of our routine, but now that we're all alone together, I can't help but feel nervous."

"Being alone with me makes you nervous? But you've been alone with me before and it never seemed to bother you then."

"It didn't, but things are different now."

"How? Did I do something? If I did, I'm so sorry, Sakura. I didn't mean it."

"No, you didn't do anything, Kaka-sensei, and you don't have to apologize. It's just that I was barely getting used to this new routine of ours of us going to each other's homes and staying overnight, but now even that's already changing."

"Changing? Changing how?"

"You know..."

"I'm sorry, Sakura, but no I don't."

"It's changing because now you're expecting me to sleep with you, and not the kind of sleeping that we've been doing lately, but actually _sleep_ with you sleep with you, and I just don't know if I'm ready for that yet!"

"Oh." Kakashi said, his eyes widening in realization. "Sakura, we don't have to do anything that you don't want to do. If you haven't noticed, I'm in no hurry here. I'm in this thing for the long run."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. If I can wait 10 years to finally ask you out, then I can certainly wait as long as you need before taking our relationship any further."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm positive. If you ever decide that you do want to sleep with me-"

"Not 'if,' Kaka-sensei, '_when'_," Sakura corrected.

Kakashi's eyes widened again. "Oh! Well, um, _when_ you decide you do want to sleep with me, I want it to be something that you chose to do on your own and not because you felt forced into it. That's not what our relationship is about, nor would I ever want it to be, so _when_ you're ready, let me know. Until then, I'm just happy that despite all the odds, you're still here with me. That's all that matters to me, Sakura. That you're here, and that you're mine."

This time, it was Sakura who reached out across the table and put her hand into Kakashi's, squeezing it.

"Thank you, Kaka-sensei, for understanding." Sakura said, relief washing over her.

"You know I'd do anything for you, right?" Kakashi asked, squeezing her hand back.

"Yes, I do."

"Good."

For the rest of evening, Sakura returned to her old self again and the two of them went back to talking and laughing easily with other as they moved from the dining room, to the kitchen, to their favorite place to just sit and talk, the sofa. And like normal, Sakura fell asleep next to Kakashi there, and Kakashi gently picked her up, carried her up the stairs, and laid her down in her own bed.

He watched her sleep for a couple of minutes, and not wanting to sleep half on the bed, half on the floor the way he had the night before (he learned that lesson the hard way already) he decided that he would go lay down in her guest bedroom instead, but right as he was about to softly close the door behind him he heard-

"Kaka-sensei?" Sakura said in a soft, sleepy voice.

"Yes, Sakura?"

"I didn't get to tell you that I feel the same way about you. That the only thing that matters to me right now is just being with you, too."

Kakashi smiled and nodded his head. "Goodnight, Sakura. I love you."

"Love you, too, Kaka-sensei," Sakura replied back, then she closed her eyes again right as Kakashi gently closed the door behind him.

Kakashi probably could have just gone home, but he didn't have it in him to leave Sakura. This would be their third night spent together and he was getting used to this new routine. He liked having Sakura be the last thing that he saw at night and the first thing he saw in the morning. In fact, Kakashi was pretty sure that he could get used to it for the rest of life.

To be continued...


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

**KONOHA ENQUIRER**

**KAKASAKU SLEEPOVERS!**

It's a well known fact that Hatake Kakashi and Haruno Sakura are notorious for their public displays of affection throughout the village, but recently it seems that Konoha's super couple have moved on to more private, intimate evenings together. Multiple witnesses have confirmed seeing Kakashi enter Sakura's house during the evening and not leave until the following morning. This has been happening everyday for the past several weeks, and although Sakura has yet to show any baby bump, it seems that it's only a matter of time before she does!

* * *

><p>"But we're not sleeping with each other!" Sakura insisted, throwing the tabloid paper angrily down to the ground.<p>

"Sure you're not!" Ino said, crossing her arms across her chest and rolling her eyes.

"Don't you dare roll your eyes at me, Ino-pig! I'm telling you the truth!"

"Okay. Sure. Fine. Whatever. So tell me, Forehead, what _is_ going on between you and Kaka-sensei when you're both all alone late at night?"

"Nothing! We're just sleeping, like literally knocked out sleeping!"

"Knocked out or knocked up?"

"I am NOT knocked up because I am telling you that WE'RE JUST SLEEPING!"

"Together."

"NOOO! LISTEN TO ME! The only reason Kaka-sensei keeps coming over to my place is because he helps me fall asleep!"

"After making sweet, sweet love to you."

"ARGH! You know what? Never mind! You're hopeless!"

"Come on, Sakura. Don't be like that. You know that I'm just teasing you. I believe you." Ino said gently.

"Really?"

"Yeah, sure. I get it. You guys are just sleeping."

"Thank you!" Sakura said in relief.

"Together." Ino mumbled under her breath.

"INOOO!"

* * *

><p>"Even my best friend doesn't believe me when I tell her that we're not sleeping with each other!" Sakura complained to Kakashi later that evening. "Why does everyone even care so much whether or not we're sleeping with each other? I bet they wouldn't care so much if we were just any other couple that was dating!"<p>

"But that's the thing," Kakashi reasoned. "We _aren't_ just any other couple. I used to be your teacher and I'm 14 years older than you. That alone is a scandal, but add on top of that that I am who I am and you are who you are and of course we're going to catch even more attention. By ourselves we already do, but together? Forget it! We're the perfect target for gossip and speculation, and I'm sorry, but there's no way around it."

"Well it sucks."

"Yes, I know it does, but you already know what I'm going to tell you."

"To not pay any attention to them."

"Exactly."

"Well it's really hard to not pay attention when everyone is talking about you behind your back and sometimes even right in front of your face!"

"I know it's hard, but sadly it's just something you have to learn to deal with and move on from. You can either let them take over your life or you can rise above them and show them that they have little power over you. You are Haruno Sakura, one of the strongest people that I know. You can rise above all this, Sakura. I know you can."

"Then you have more belief in me than I do."

"Well that's just how it's going to have to be, isn't it? I'm going to have to keep believing in you until you finally learn to believe in yourself."

"Jeez, now I know why you became a teacher."

"Because of my cheesy inspirational pep talks?"

"Yes."

"But is it working?"

"Maybe a little, like this little." Sakura said, using her pointer finger and thumb to show the tiniest amount.

"I'll take it!" Kakashi said, his eyes crinkling into a smile.

Sakura shook her and couldn't help but smile also.

In the end, Sakura followed his advice and Kakashi practiced what he preached with neither of them paying any attention to all the gossip and rumors that continued to buzz and grow around them. And true to his word, Kakashi allowed Sakura to take as much time as she needed before taking their relationship any further.

In time, they fell into a new routine:

Wake up together (albeit in different rooms).

Eat breakfast and get ready for work in the morning together.

Go their separate ways for work.

Meet each other for lunch.

Go back to work.

Then meet each other back at home.

Repeat until the weekend at which point the only difference was that they spent the entire day running chores and errands together and then spending whatever remained of their time off just relaxing at home. It's not that they were hiding from the public. It was just easier and more comfortable being at home with each other.

One day, Sakura threw something to Kakashi who was laying comfortably on the sofa reading his book.

"What's this?" Kakashi asked.

"It's a copy of my house key. You're here so often now, you might as well have a key of your own. That way, if I'm running late from work, you can just let yourself in."

"Thank you." Kakashi said, smiling gratefully and adding the key to his key ring.

A few days later, Kakashi threw something to Sakura.

"What's this?" Sakura asked.

"A copy of my apartment key." Kakashi said. "If I'm free to go in and out of your house, then you're welcome to go in and out of mine."

"Thank you," Sakura said, giving him a hug. This was huge for Kakashi. He was one of the most private people Sakura knew, and for him to do something like this? It was monumental. It showed that once again, their trust and relationship had just gone to another level.

But in the end, more often than not, it was Sakura's house that they both ended up staying at because she was the one with a guest bedroom and her house just had more room in general. It also made it easier on Sakura because her house was closer to the hospital, making it quick and easy for her to run there whenever she was suddenly called in for an emergency.

One morning, Kakashi woke up and made a mental note to bring a few days worth of clothes with him so that he wouldn't have to keep going back to his place just for that. He also ended up bringing his toothbrush and other toiletries with him so that he could just shower and groom himself at her place as well.

It got to the point that Kakashi rarely even went home anymore. The only times he ever did go back to his place was just to grab more clothes or pick up his accumulating mail. He even did his laundry at her place, putting the newly washed clothes into the closet or dresser in the guest bedroom that he had claimed as his own, with Sakura's consent of course.

More time passed and Kakashi realized that his utility bills (which he would ironically write a check for from Sakura's place) were getting lower and lower because he wasn't home anymore to use much of anything.

Then on one of those rare times that Kakashi actually went back to his place, he opened up his closet to see that there were only a few pieces of clothing left hanging on the rod.

He opened up all his dresser drawers. Those, too, were almost completely empty.

He looked around his room and at the windowsill where he kept his entire collection of the _Icha, Icha_ series, but only a couple of books remained.

He opened up his fridge only to see that it, too, was almost completely empty because when he bought groceries now, he bought them with Sakura, the two of them putting their money together to buy groceries for two, not one anymore. Then he helped her carry the bags of groceries back to her place and they ate them together at her place as well.

Kakashi couldn't help but laugh because without meaning to, he had gradually moved himself into Sakura's house, with the exception of his furniture, but even those he could easily just sell or give away.

During one of their casual evenings at home, while Kakashi was reading _Icha, Icha _and Sakura was reading one of her medical journals, Sakura looked at Kakashi and contemplated how much things had changed between them. They had gone from friends, to best friends, to boyfriend and girlfriend, to boyfriend and girlfriend who were comfortable enough with each other to spend an evening just quietly reading together. It made Sakura look at Kakashi differently. He still looked how he always looked, but for no particular reason, this time Kakashi looked more handsome than usual in the soft light of the lamp that he was using to read his book.

Out of her own volition, Sakura got up from the club chair she had been curled up on, walked over to the sofa where Kakashi was, and put her hand on his book, gently bringing it down so that he would look at her.

"What is it, Sakura?" Kakashi asked, looking quizzically up at her.

"Nothing." Sakura said. "I just really want to-" then she bent down and kissed his masked lips.

Kakashi kissed her back, holding the back of her neck and scooting over on the sofa so that Sakura could sit down next to him so that they could kiss each other more comfortably.

They only parted so that they could catch their breaths, then Sakura moved in towards Kakashi again and began to gently kiss his scarred left eye, starting from his eyebrow slowly moving down to where the scar ended halfway down his cheek.

Kakashi reciprocated by kissing her behind the ear and sprinkling kisses down the side of her neck before moving back up to kiss her on the lips again.

When they parted for a second time, Sakura lifted her hand up to Kakashi's cheek, and he covered her hand with his, pressing her palm hard against his cheek, and closing his eyes as if savoring her touch. Then Kakashi used his hand on top of hers to slowly start pulling down his mask.

"What are you doing?" Sakura asked surprised.

"Something I should have done a long time ago," Kakashi said, helping her to continue pulling down his mask.

Inch by inch, Sakura saw more of Kakashi than she ever had in all the years that she had known him, and once the mask was completely off, Sakura just stared at him for a minute, needing to get used to his face. Kakashi looked like a completely different person. His eyes were the only things that she recognized about him, but the rest of him was a stranger to her.

Sakura took this all in for a minute and then...she burst out laughing. It wasn't exactly the reaction that Kakashi was hoping for.

"What?" he asked in wide eyed surprise.

"It's just that-" Sakura laughed. "You look like-" she laughed again. "A raccoon!" she managed to say before bursting out laughing again.

"A raccoon?" Kakashi repeated.

Sakura nodded her head and kept laughing. "Because of your tan line!"

And it was true. After decades and decades of wearing his mask, Kakashi's skin color from the top of his nose down was a couple of shades lighter than the skin around his eyes, so he really did look kind of like a raccoon.

"Haven't you ever noticed while shaving?" Sakura asked, still laughing.

"Yes, but I guess I've just gotten used to it. It never occurred to me that it was funny." Kakashi said, still wide eyed.

"I'm sorry," Sakura said, wiping tears away from her eyes. "I know you meant this as a romantic gesture and I didn't mean to laugh at you, but after all these years of trying to see you without your mask on, it didn't even occur to me that that might happen. I mean, of course it would. How couldn't it? But still," she said, laughing again, but at least not as hard as before.

"I guess it is kind of funny." Kakashi admitted, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"It is, but other than that, you're just how I imagined." Sakura said, raising her hand back up to his face and lightly touching his cheeks.

"Really? How did you imagine it?"

"Clean shaved and handsome." Sakura said simply.

"You think I'm handsome?"

"Of course I do! Look at you!"

Kakashi blushed.

"Here is that perfect profile of a nose I've always seen silhouetted beneath your mask," Sakura said, kissing the tip of Kakashi's nose. "And here's the smooth, clean shaved cheeks that I could feel beneath the fabric," Sakura said, kissing him on each cheek. "And best of all, here are the lips that I've kissed so many times already, but never like this," Sakura said, and for the first time, but not the last, Sakura's lips pressed against Kakashi's bare ones.

Now they could feel how silky soft each other's lips were, how warm, and wet, and sweet. It was like they were kissing each other for the first time even though they had already kissed each other hundreds of times before.

"Finally." Sakura said, smiling up at Kakashi.

"Yes, finally." Kakashi said, smiling back down at her.

Because now not only did they finally get to kiss each other for real without any barriers, but because Kakashi finally found someone he felt comfortable enough to reveal his face to. In the end, it wasn't brute force that got him to take off his mask, but someone he loved with all his heart who had coaxed him with the gentlest of kisses.

To be continued...


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

Sakura's heart skipped a beat when she saw a stranger from the corner of her eye walk into the other room, but as she cautiously peeked her head in, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Kaka-sensei!" she said.

"Yes?"

"Nothing! I just thought that you were someone else!"

"Really? Who?"

"I don't know, anyone. Sorry, I just need some more time to get used to seeing you like this."

"Do I really look that much different with my mask off?"

"From far away you do because I'm so used to seeing someone with half his face covered walking around my house, not someone dressed like normal."

"Would it make you feel any better if I started wearing my mask again?"

"What? No! Of course not!"

Kakashi eyes widened in surprise. "I didn't know that you felt so strongly about it."

"Are you kidding me? It took me a decade to finally see you with your mask off! Of course I don't want you to ever put it back on again!"

"You do know that I'm only going maskless when we're at home with all the blinds and curtains closed, but I'm putting my mask back on before I go outside."

"Yes, I know, and I feel privileged that I'm the only one who gets to see you this way, so don't you dare take that away from me!"

"It's okay, Sakura. As far as you go, you will always get to see me with my mask off in private."

"Thank you and I better be!" Sakura said mulishly.

Kakashi laughed and then kissed her, which turned Sakura's pout into a smile.

"That's going to take some getting used to, too." Sakura said, smiling up at him.

"Yes, it is." Kakashi agreed, smiling back down at her, and even just his smile amazed Sakura because now she could see his _actual_ smile, not just his eyes creasing happily, but all of it: His mouth curving upwards and his straight, white teeth gleaming back at her. Sakura already wanted to look at Kakashi all day long because he was so good to look at, but to see him smile on top of it all...Sakura just couldn't get enough of it.

"I guess Ino was right, after all," she said, cupping his face in her hands and loving every inch of it.

"About what?"

"She told me that I needed to kiss you with your mask off because it would make all the difference in the world. She said that it could make or break our chemistry."

"And?" Kakashi asked.

"I don't know. Maybe I should test it," Sakura said playfully, getting up on her tiptoes and kissing him again, this time letting her lips linger longer against his. "So what do you think?" she asked, finally pulling away from him.

"I think," Kakashi said, putting his hands on Sakura's hips and pulling her towards him, "That it needs some more testing," he said, tilting his head to sprinkle kisses down the side of her neck.

Sakura closed her eyes enjoying the warmth and softness of his mouth against her skin. Each press of his mouth sent a fire blazing inside of her.

"So," Kakashi asked, between kisses. "What do you think?"

"I think," Sakura said breathlessly. "That I don't want to think anymore."

"Same here," Kakashi said, kissing her back on the mouth. Then they spent the better part of the rest of the afternoon just kissing each other.

* * *

><p>Later that evening while sitting around the dinner table after their meal...<p>

"...So I told Tenzo that I'd have to see how you felt about it first, and he said that I was whipped. Can you believe that?" Kakashi said laughing.

"I'm sorry, what?" Sakura said.

"Didn't you hear anything that I just said?" Kakashi asked, raising an eyebrow up at her.

"Something funny?" Sakura said, not really sure herself.

"I thought you were paying attention since you were looking at me so intently."

"I'm sorry! I was too distracted staring at your smile while you were laughing!" Sakura admitted, her face reddening in embarrassment.

"That's what you were doing?" Kakashi said incredulously.

"I told you, I'm still trying to get used to seeing you this way!"

Kakashi started laughing.

"What? Why are laughing?" Sakura asked.

"Because I was just thinking that it's a good thing that I wore my mask when I was still teaching you or you wouldn't have learned anything," Kakashi said still laughing.

"Yes, I guess so," Sakura said, a smile slowly growing on her face. "I probably would have had a crush on you."

"Really?"

"Of course!"

"Huh." Kakashi said, getting a far off look in his eyes.

"Kaka-sensei, what are you thinking?" Sakura asked worriedly.

"Something that I probably shouldn't be thinking, but then again it is 10 years after and we're dating now anyway, so it all works out." Kakashi said with a shrug.

"Were you...Why you perv!" Sakura said in realization, punching Kakashi on the arm, but not as hard as she was capable of.

"Ow!" Kakashi laughed all the same. "I do read _Icha, Icha_, you know? What did you expect?"

"But back then? I was just a kid back then!"

"Of course not back then. I'm not a pedophile. That's why I never touched you back then."

"But you said, 'Then again it's 10 years after and we're dating now anyway, so it all works out,' so you _were_ thinking about what it would have been like back then!"

"So NOW you're listening to every word I say?"

Sakura ignored him. "So let's say that I did have a crush on you back then, what would you have done?"

"Honestly, I probably would have just thought that it was cute and left it at that. I was entrusted to care for you and protect you back then. I wouldn't have done anything to betray that trust, and I didn't."

"Even if I had thrown myself at you?"

"Then I probably would have had to report you and had you transferred to a different teacher."

"Really?"

"Absolutely."

"Huh." Sakura said, now taking her turn to get a far off look in her eyes.

"Sakura, what are you thinking?" Kakashi asked.

"It's just that I did kind of have a crush on you back then."

"Now you're just saying that. You only had eyes for Sasuke back then."

"No...Before we were all assigned our teachers, everyone talked about which teacher they hoped to get. There was talk among the girls that there were a couple of cute looking ones and we hoped we'd get those. Luckily, Ino got one, and I got the other."

Kakashi's eyes widened in realization. "So you really did have a crush on me back then?"

"You're not bad to look at, Kaka-sensei, if you haven't noticed from all my staring."

It was Kakashi's turn to turn red.

"So you're right," Sakura continued, getting out of her seat and liberally sitting herself down on Kakashi's lap, "It's a good thing that you kept your mask on all those years or we would have been in real trouble, but like you said, it's 10 years after and we're dating now anyway, so it all works out," she said, grabbing the back of his neck and kissing him long and hard.

"Thank goodness for that," Kakashi said, grabbing the back of her neck and kissing her long and hard in return.

* * *

><p>"Your lips are swollen. Why?" Ino asked, giving Sakura the evil eye.<p>

"They are?" Sakura asked, bringing her fingers up to her lips.

"Uh, yeah! If they were anymore swollen you'd look like a clown!"

"They're not that bad," Sakura said indignantly.

"Yes they are! What have you been doing anyway? Getting stung by bees on the lips?" Ino asked, and then she gasped. "Wait, I know exactly what you've been doing! You've been kissing! You've been kissing a lot!" Ino said bright eyed and eager.

"So what? Haven't you been reading the tabloids lately? Kaka-sensei and I have been kissing all over the place."

"Yes, but this is different! He's been kissing you maskless, hasn't he?"

"How could you possibly know that?"

"Ah-ha! I knew it!" Ino said gleefully, pointing an accusing finger at Sakura.

Sakura rolled her eyes up to the sky and let her shoulders drop. She couldn't believe that she just let Ino in on her secret by saying too much...again!

"Okay, fine. Yes, we've been kissing each other a lot with his mask off."

"So why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Because I knew you'd react like this and it's only supposed to be between him and me that I now know what he looks like under his mask."

"So what _does_ he look like under his mask?"

"I just told you that it's only supposed to be between him and me!"

"Oh come on, Sakura! It's not like I'm forcing you to secretly take a picture of him and show it to me...Although that is a good idea now that I think about it...But no! I'm just asking you from one friend to another: Is he or is he not hot?"

"Ino," Sakura said deadpanned, "My lips are swollen like a clown's from kissing the man so much. What do you think?"

"I KNEW IT!" Ino laughed and Sakura couldn't help but laugh also because Ino's excitement was so infectious.

"And you were right," Sakura admitted, "It really is different kissing him with his mask off."

"Ahh! I need details!"

"Well, it was already nice kissing him with his mask on, but once it came off, it brought everything to a whole different level. It was like our senses were awakened. It's like we went from connecting with each other at 90 percent to connecting with each other at 100 percent."

"No, Sakura. You haven't reached 100 percent yet."

"What do you- Wait a minute! I thought that you already thought that we're already sleeping with each other!"

"And I told you that I was just teasing you! I know that you haven't slept with him yet!"

"Again, how could you possibly even know that?"

"Because I've experienced these things already. I'm standing on the other side of the bridge and I know how you'll transform once you cross that bridge also, and I can tell just by looking at you that haven't. Plus, you're my best friend. I can read you like a book!"

"You're making me all kinds of uncomfortable right now. You do know that, right?"

"Well, the important thing is that you got that retched mask off, you two are playing house, and now it's just a matter of time before you two are doing it like bunny rabbits."

"Ino!"

"Too graphic? What about a pair of bonobo chimpanzees doing it every couple of hours?"

"INO!"

"Doggy style?"

"I'll see you tomorrow, Ino!" Sakura said already walking away.

"Cats in heat?" Ino yelled after her, loud enough for other people on the street to turn around and look at her. "Don't look at me like that, granny! I bet you had your fair share of male callers."

Instead of getting angry, the old woman simply smiled and nodded. "Oh you betcha, girly! I don't even know where to start!"

Ino's eyes widened in surprise and she suddenly found a new best friend to tell her about some very racy escapades.

* * *

><p>Sakura stared down hard on the page, but no matter how hard she tried to concentrate, she couldn't focus on the words in front of her. How could she when he was just right there?<p>

"Sakura..." Kakashi said, raising his own eyes up from his book, "You've been looking down at your medical journal, then looking up at me, then back down again for the past 20 minutes. If you're reading about some strange disease and you think that I have it, I'd really appreciate it if you would just tell me."

"What? No! That's not why I've been doing that!"

"Then why have you been doing that?"

"Because..." Sakura said, feeling her face grow warmer, "I can't focus on work right now. My mind keeps wandering." _To you_, she wanted to say, but didn't.

But Kakashi knew what she was getting at.

"Come here," he said, making room for her on the sofa.

Sakura got up from the club chair she was curled up on and laid down next to him.

"Maybe," Kakashi said, adjusting his book so that Sakura could see it, too, "You just need something else to read," he suggested.

"I really don't think that's going to help the situation," Sakura said doubtfully.

"By the looks you kept shooting me a minute ago, I beg to differ," Kakashi said.

"Okay, fine. I'll give it a try," Sakura said and started to read the page that Kakashi was currently on. She immediately felt embarrassed. After a while she said timidly, "Um, how can you read this and not be turned on all the time?"

"Who said I wasn't?" Kakashi said, turning his head to smirk at her.

"But you don't show it, you know what I mean?" Sakura said, letting her eyes drift pointedly downward for a second.

"I have extremely good self control," Kakashi said nonchalantly.

"Apparently so," Sakura said.

"Wait a minute, you're the one who's turned on, aren't you?" Kakashi said in realization.

"To be fair, I was already turned on before you asked me to lay down next to you and read your porn, only the porn worsened the situation!"

"Didn't I tell you?" Kakashi said softly, bringing his face closer to hers, "It _helps_ the situation."

Sakura was suddenly aware of his close proximity and how warm his body was against hers. Then she closed the already small distance between them and kissed him.

Kakashi kissed her back, putting his hand on her lower back and pulling her towards him.

Sakura's eyes shot open and grew wide.

"I have extremely good self control," Kakashi repeated, "But only to a certain degree," he said.

"Apparently so," Sakura said weakly and didn't protest when Kakashi moved around on the sofa until she was no longer laying next to him, but beneath him.

To be continued...


End file.
